


Undefined Relationships

by Kamaleen



Category: Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: A poor clone who had to take care of Darth Vader's anger and babysit Luke, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Post-Order 66, Post-Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Rape, Sexual Content, Violence, What Have I Done, What Was I Thinking?, What if Vader found Luke and brought his son with him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2018-09-11 18:37:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 11
Words: 55,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9001963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kamaleen/pseuds/Kamaleen
Summary: Tin had to bite his lower lip to chase the memory away before his boss noticed. He dared look up and found Lord Vader standing in front of him.No one said anything, for that moment no one said anything. Then his boss lifted his hand and Tin choked as he was held up in the air by an invisible hand.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've no idea what got to me. I watched Rogue One and then I was like; wow, let's write a story about Darth Vader because his scenes were amazing.
> 
> English is not my first language, I apologize for any mistake I might have made in the story.
> 
> Enjoy!

 

 

 

"Master Luke! Please don't run!"

"You can't catch me!"

The boy with golden hair sang as he sprinted down the passage. Tin wanted to scream as he tried his best to chase down the boy. He cursed himself for not being in the top ten places at the shooting exam, or else he wouldn't be assigned this babysitting duty!

Well, at least the boy wasn't hard to take care of, it's the father that he was afraid of. No, everyone was afraid of the boy's father, especially when he was in a bad mood.

"Young master! Slow down!" Tin almost shouted as he rounded the corner and froze in place. There he was, the father. Lord Vader. The most intimidating figure of this planet and probably the whole galaxy itself. And the boy, the trouble making little brat was chatting at his father without knowing that Tin was going to be punished for letting the boy out of the North Wing. Well, actually the boy escaped, but Tin was going to be punished nonetheless.

"Luke," Lord Vader spoke. His voice sounded softer when he was talking to his son. "Why are you here? Didn't I instruct you to be at the North Wing until dinner?"

"But I'm bored," the boy gave his father a cheeky smile. "Also, I want to greet you. Tin told me that you might be back early today."

"Is that so?"

 _Shit_ , Tin was screaming inside his head. _Damn that kid! I told you not to tell your scary father that! Great! Now Lord Vader is going to kill me, or worse…_ He almost shivered when he thought about the worst thing than death.

"Yes sir, I told him you will be back early today," Tin tried to sound neutral when he spoke, despite wanting to scream at the boy for making his life even more miserable.

"Well then," Lord Vader sighed and scooped his son up. "Go make sure that dinner is ready by the time we're back."

"Yes, my lord," Tin bowed and quickly made his way toward the kitchen of the North Wing.

 

CT-9331, a.k.a. Tin – a nickname he didn't remember which brother had given to him. Tin was one of the very last clone troopers the Empire made. The clone factory on Kamino was shutting down. The Imperial army no longer needed them, as now there're plenty of men and women to recruit.

After he graduated, Tin had hoped that he would have a chance to serve at the front line of the battle. Well, no, he wasn't good enough. Everything about him, his scores, his personality, were all 'average', as his profile said. So, he and the rest of his class that were lower than average was sent to each outposts instead.

So now he was here, on a planet called Darim, in a citadel surrounded by woods and rivers. At first he was just a soldier, running errands and stuffs for several generals here. Then, a year ago, Lord Vader came to the citadel with a boy sleeping in his arm.

The boy, Luke Skywalker - his son, was just three and a half years old. Lord Vader simply said that his son needed a babysitter, and Tin was just unlucky to be around there when his boss announced. He hoped that Lord Vader wouldn't pick him, he's just an average clone. But the galaxy seemed to have another idea for him, because Lord Vader turned and pointed at him, saying that he must take care of Luke Skywalker from now on.

Normally, Luke Skywalker was a good kid. He didn't run away when it's time for his bath or screamed that he didn't want to go to class every morning. However, being an only child in this citadel, he had only Tin for a friend. And Tin, well, he was too afraid of the boy's father to refuse when Luke wanted to play with him after his classes with those 'scary and boring teachers'. There was more than one time that the boy painted his armours with the biggest smile on his face that made Tin quickly pushed away the urge to groan when he thought of how long it would take to clean his armours.

Nevertheless, Tin had to admit that he quite enjoy the company of the boy. He had to adapt a lot in the first month. After Luke was used to his presence, the boy always wanted to be with him in his free time. Tin, who was raised among his other 300 brothers, decided that Luke must felt lonely. How could he not? Tin grew up with 300 brothers, but Luke was alone, surrounded by the people who didn't have time for him. And his father, well, Lord Vader was a busy man. Sometimes he would disappear for weeks, leaving Luke alone with Tin.

At first Tin thought that Lord Vader would be strict with Luke, just liked when he was with others. It turned out that Lord Vader wasn't as strict as he was when he was around his son. But when Luke broke the rules – intentionally or unintentionally, there would always be punishment for both of them. Well, let said that the kid got scolded and a cold and long lecture from his father, but Tin was the one receiving the rest of the anger. Well, he should be grateful that Luke only broke the rule when his father alive early. Normally the boy wouldn't be allow out of the North Wing of the citadel unless Lord Vader was with him. But when Luke knew that his father was back, he would just run straight from the North Wing to the hanger bay.

 

 _No, no, thinking about that isn't going to help._ Tin almost knocked his head with his hand as he entered the kitchen. The cookers were chatting at each other as they worked. Tin managed a small cough, and everyone turned to look at him.

"Boss is back, he wants dinner to be ready in one hour." Tin announced nonchalantly. But that's enough, the cookers immediately worked with more concentration.

 

 

While Luke was out with his father, Tin went to the boy's room. He made sure that the toys were in the right place and the books were back on their shelves.

Tin made the boy bed, feeling more like a housekeeper than a trooper. He shook his head and walked around the room to make sure that everything was spotless before making his way toward the dining room. Most people would have thought that it would be a big room, with large tables and expensive decorations. Well, not quite. The room Luke liked was a small empty room that linked the dining hall with the passage leaded to the main library of the North Wing. It's because this room had a large window that showed the view of the forest below, so they put a table and chairs here along with more decorations.

Tin made sure that everything was perfect as he kept glancing toward the watch. Lord Vader was always on time.

 

 

Six o'clock and twenty minutes, that's when Tin heard footsteps. He immediately moved to stand in the corner as Lord Vader and his son entered the room. The boy was very happy while his father still showed no emotions.

Both of them sat down and the servant droids immediately rolled out with food on the plates. They placed each dishes neatly on the table before rolling away, leaving the room. So now there was only Lord Vader, Luke, and Tin.

Luke kept talking about what he had learnt today as he father slowly took his mask of. Tin wasn't sure if he was glad or terrified to be allowed to see his boss' face. The man was burnt in larva once, but there were still some features left to tell that he was once a very attractive man. Even covered in scars, Tin could still see the perfect cheekbones and those strong jaws. Nevertheless, what terrified Tin most was the eyes. They're dark brown, but sometimes they would just change to yellow, and then red.

Tin kept his face straight as Lord Vader turned his way to put the helmet on a nearby cart. The sleek black head piece followed, showing the bald head covered in scars. He stood there until he was sure that Lord Vader wouldn't require anything else until the dinner finished, then he silently left them alone.

"Heard that the boy broke out again," one of the trooper who walked by spoke as Tin was making his way to the kitchen to grab something to eat.

"Yeah," Tin nodded, smiling cheekily because he didn't know what else to say. The trooper just sighed, waving him good luck, and Tin was glad they didn't know what happened behind the closed door of Lord Vader's personal quarter.

 

 

Later that evening, when Luke was replaying his lesson today to his father, Tin silently sneaked in the living room and stood there, waiting for order from his boss that it's time for Luke to go to bed. His boss didn't even look at him, but Tin felt like he was being watched. Well, Lord Vader had his mask back on, so there was no way for Tin to know what his boss was looking at.

After Luke finished telling his father about the lessons, Lord Vader scooped his son up in his arms and told him the stories about stars and the galaxy. Tin couldn't help but felt like this was his privilege to be allowed to see the stoic Lord acted like human, no, let himself be human. Who would have thought that the person the whole galaxy scared of most would be sitting on a sofa with a boy in his arms, telling him bedtime stories.

Luke started to yawn after a while, and Lord Vader got up with his son half asleep. Tin followed silently as Vader put his son to bed, before stepping back and waited for the order.

"Go to my quarter"

That's it, a simple order. Tin winched inside, knowing what this meant.

"Yes, my lord," he replied and turned away, walking toward Lord Vader's quarter.

 

Lord Vader's quarter was very plain. The first room was almost empty, excepted for a long black couch on one side of the room, right under the window that extended down from the ceiling. There were three doors, but Tin knew better than to explore.

So he stood there, in the middle of the room, and waited. Several minutes later, his boss arrived. Tin's heart quickened, he knew what's about to happen.

"You let my son wandered out of the North Wing."

It's not a question. Tin remained still and kept his face neutral.

"I remembered you've promised me, long ago, that this will not happen again."

That's so long ago, it's the first time Luke had wandered out of the North Wing. Tin promised that he wouldn't let this happen again, hoping that his boss would give him a second chance. Vader did nothing but used the Force to send him flat against the wall, before pulling Tin's legs…

Tin had to bite his lower lip to chase the memory away before his boss noticed. He dared look up and found Lord Vader standing in front of him.

No one said anything, for that moment no one said anything. Then his boss lifted his hand and Tin choked as he was held up in the air by an invisible hand.

It's not the brutal crush just like when Lord Vader wanted to torture someone, but it's a crush nonetheless. Tin felt as if the air was squeezing him, holding him up several inches from the floor. He could still breathe, but he couldn't move. Lord Vader was no longer in his sight, but Tin knew what was going to happen next.

Suddenly, his pants along with his underwear were moved down his legs to rest around his knees. He gasped as the cold air touched his skin. This was not the first time something like the happened, but he couldn't still get used to it.

He could hear a sound of rustling clothes, and then he his body was arranged in a more horizontal line. Lord Vader bent his back a bit, not much, but just enough to make it curved and made his ass…ass… pushed out, legs spread.

Tin didn't fight when his boss spread his legs using the Force. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. There was no warning, no words. Tin heard a wet sound and then Lord Vader was pushing into him. He had never prepared Tin, only lubed himself up and pushed in.

It's always like this, Lord Vader using him. The first time it was the roughest and it hurt like hell, actually Tin screamed and Lord Vader choked him until he couldn't make a sound.

The first time he was taken, Tin ended up bleeding and unable to walk for several minutes. He was lucky that Lord Vader was kind enough to allow him a day off after the first time [Tin didn't want to think of it as their first time], and after that his boss seemed to be more careful when handled Tin. He's still rough and uncaring, but at least Tin wasn't bleeding after the whole ordeal anymore. And sometimes – if he was lucky, Lord Vader might hit the spot inside Tin that almost made him moan. It made him feel good, so good that sometimes Tin had found a quiet place to masturbate after Lord Vader dismissed him.

This time was just like other times he had been here. Tin bit his lip and let himself be used as Lord Vader pleased. His boss did hit his prostate several time, but that wasn't enough. Tin's cock twitched a bit, half-hard when Lord Vader finished. The air that had been holding him disappeared and Tin stumbled forward, holding his arms out to regain the balance. After that he pulled his pants up and would do his best, just liked every times something like this happened, to ignore the stickiness inside him and some that was running down his inner thighs.

"Next week, Luke and I will travel to Naboo," Lord Vader spoke as Tin just finished redressing. "Make sure you've prepared everything."

"Yes, my lord," Tin bowed and made his way to the door. Pain shot up from his lower body but he didn't care. He was used to it by now.

Tin got back to his room, locking the door and went straight to the fresher. Being a babysitter of their Boss' son did have an advantage. He was given his own room. It was small but at least it had a fresher attached to it.

Tin spent several minutes in the fresher masturbating, then he showered and prepared for the night. He was still sore from what just happened, but he had long learnt not to care. He was just a clone, an expandable tool. Tin was sure that as soon as Master Luke no longer needed him, he would be sent back to his old duty.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tin woke up before sunrise. He got out of the bed and prepared himself for the day. Before this, Tin only wore full armors with the mask when he was at work, but Luke preferred to see his face more than a lifeless mask, so now he wore a simple grey uniform of the Imperial army instead.

 

Luke was up when he entered the room. The boy was half way on making his bed when Tin walked in. He smiled and told the boy to go wash his face, or he might miss having a breakfast with his father. Luke immediately complied.

 

Lord Vader was already waiting for his son at the garden. In a morning with nice weather and beautiful sky, his boss always went out. Tin took Luke to his father and retreated, letting the droids took the rest of the job.

Luke was pouting when his father said goodbye and went to work. All Tin could do was sigh and reminding the child that he had a lesson to caught. Luke just pouted even more but followed him inside nonetheless.

 

The time before lunch was the most peaceful time for Tin. He caught up with the rest of his friends in the citadel, choosing lunch for the boy, checking his schedule, and went to wait for Luke to finish his lessons.

 

 

"It's so boring," Luke complained to him once he was free for today. "I hate remembering those type of ships and their duties. There's only me and Mr. Snotter in the room, and he kept staring at me."

"Well, you're his only student," Tin pointed out, knowing that this wasn't going to help.

"Why am I the only student?" Luke pouted. "Other kids study in group. In those cartoons and movies, there're classrooms and school. Why does father not send me to school? Adults go to work, children go to school, right?"

"I don't know, I'm sorry young master," Tin shook his head. "You'll have to ask Lord Vader about that."

"I want to go to school." Luke said, grabbing Tin's hand and leaded him toward the garden. "This place is boring." He pouted as they walked pass the door and stepped onto a path made from peddles that leaded them into the garden. Tin wanted to tell the boy that this was one of the best place anyone could afford compared to other people out there, but Luke was too young to know about that. And even if he was old enough, Tin doubted he would dare tell the boy the truth about the Galaxy without Lord Vader's permission.

"That…you'll have to ask your father too," Tin sighed. He did feel bad for Luke, it must be boring seeing the same thing and same people for years. "But he will take you to Naboo next week."

"Yes!" Luke jumped, all pouts were gone as he remembered yesterday's conversation. "Yes! I'm going to Naboo! Will you come with me?"

"I…um…I don't know," Tin shook his head. "I think that…"

"I'll have to ask my dad, I got it." Luke rolled his eyes. "Why do I have to ask my dad all the time? He doesn't tell you anything? But yesterday he told you to go to his quarter. What did you two talk?"

"Well," Tin tried to sound casual. Damnit, he knew that Luke was too young to know anything, but his words still reminded him of what happened. "He scolded me for letting you out of the North Wing." There was no way Tin was going to tell the boy what really happened.

Luke didn't seem to totally believe him, but the boy did let it slide. "Tell me about Naboo," the boy said instead. "Have you been there before?"

"No sir, I have never been to Naboo," Tin shook his head. All he had seen after leaving Kamino was the ships and then this citadel. "But I've hear that it's a very beautiful place. It's located in the Mid Rim, a home to the Gungan species. The human populations there are called the Naboo. Oh, and our Emperor is from Naboo too."

"What about my dad?" Luke asked another answer that Tin knew he wouldn't dare answer. "Where did he come from? Is he from Naboo? And what about my mother? Is she from Naboo too?"

"Master Luke," Tin sighed. This wasn't the first time Luke asked about his mother, or about his father's origin. Honestly, Tin didn't know what happen to the boy's mother nor where his boss came from, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be something he should know. "You will…."

"I will have to ask my dad again," the boy frowned. "Really Tin? Really? You never know anything! Or if you know, you always say that I'll have to ask my dad!"

"Master Luke," Tin sighed. "I want to tell you everything I know, but some questions… they're not mind to answer. And your dad will be angry if I cross the line."

"Are you afraid of my father?"

An innocent question, the one that Tin wanted to laugh at. _Who isn't afraid of your dad?! Except for you of course!_ He wanted to shout. His lower back was still sore. But Luke was just a kid, and Tin wanted the boy to be happy, not to be afraid at his own father. So, "well, yes, he's my boss," was his reply.

Luke seemed content with that answer, so he changed the topic to other thing; Tin was very relieved. And they spent that afternoon in peace.

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

Next week arrived, Luke was so excited that the night before the travelling he could not sleep. Of course the boy didn't go to his father's quarter, he wasn't that bold, Luke went to Tin's room instead. And Tin? All he could do was getting up and stayed with the boy until sunrise.

 

"Are you excited for your first trip to Naboo?"

Lord Vader was already waiting for his son at the dining room when Luke and Tin arrived.

"Yes! I'm so excited!" The boy chattered and ran toward his father. Tin used that chance to quietly get out of the room. He then went to take care of the boy's luggage. Tin would be going to Naboo too, Luke wouldn't let him stay behind, nor Lord Vader. Tin's boss needed someone to take care of his son while he attended all those meetings. And Tin was the only one Luke was comfortable with.

 

"A holiday in Naboo? I'm jealous."

One of the Stormtroopers at the bay teased him. "Believe me, it's not a holiday," Tin replied, waving them away as he directed the droids to transport each bags into the Imperial Shuttle. Well, he would be riding in this shuttle with Luke, his boss, and several of his boss' bodyguards for a short trip to a Star destroyer that was waiting just outside Darim's atmosphere.

"Yeah, I almost forgot you have to babysit Lord Vader's son," one of the Stormtroopers said, and that brought laughter from the rest of the group. Tin shook his head but smiled anyway. Taking care of the kid might be tiresome sometimes, but it's a lighter work compared to the errands he had run.

Tin promised his friends he would bring some souvenirs back before watching them marched off to their posts. The pilots were already in the shuttle, preparing to take off as soon as their boss arrive.

 

 

Half an hour later, his boss and Luke arrived, followed by several of his Security Force; these elite troopers that were very identical to Snowtroopers but with red armours and red masks.

Tin kept his head straight and eyes looked forward as his boss approached the shuttle. He saluted and waited until everyone was in the shuttle that he followed.

Lord Vader took his seat in the front, his son was with him. The Lord Vader's personal Security Force were on their left and right, so Tin picked the furthest seat in the room. He sat and tried to calm his nerve down. This was his first time leaving the citadel after arrived here.

Luke was quieter than usual. Tin wasn't sure if he had imaged it, but his young master seemed to be…sad and disappointed of something. He hoped that it wouldn't involve Lord Vader. Every time Luke started complaining about his father, he always turned to ask Tin everything that the clone couldn't answer; it wasn't his place to answer all of those questions.

 

 

The trip to the Star Destroyer was short. Tin stood up and was ready to move as soon as the shuttle landed. A pair of the special elite troopers went out first, followed by Lord Vader and his son. A pair of the special troopers behind them, and then Tin.

To be honest, Tin felt very awkward right now. He hadn't been in a ship this busy and this big before. The transporter they used to transport his battalion to Darim wasn't this big nor this busy. Also, he had never been this close to these special troopers. He had to admit that they're quite scary.

"Take my son to his room" was an order from Lord Vader. Tin, who had no idea where the room was, tried not to sound stupid as he replied. "My apology, my lord, but I wasn't informed of…"

"Sergeant," Lord Vader cut him off, which was rarely happened. Normally he would let someone finished before Force-choking them, so Tin guessed that he wouldn't be Force-choked. "I wasn't talking to you."

Tin's cheeks were burning. Yeah, that's very embarrassing even when his boss was using his usual commanding voice. He looked up and saw that the order was directed to one of Lord Vader's bodyguards.

Luke seemed like he wanted to protest. The boy wasn't used to being escorted by his father's bodyguards. Nevertheless, the boy behaved and followed the trooper in black armour who leaded him to one of many doors connected to the hanger.

"Walk with me sergeant"

His boss said and started walking. Tin nearly stumbled when his brain finally kicked in and told him to walk. Lord Vader had never ordered Tin to follow him before, and that scared Tin. He hoped that this wasn't going to be a punishment. Well, if it was he hoped that it would be quick.

"Sergeant," Lord Vader interrupted his thought and Tin nearly jumped in surprise. "When we reach Naboo, you will be taking my son around when I attend the meetings."

"Yes, my lord,"

"I have an expectation that you know where you can and cannot take him to. Do not disappoint me."

"Yes, my lord," Tin nodded, keeping his eyes trained to the ground or the Stormtroopers walking ahead of him. "I will do my best."

 

After that he was dismissed. Tin spent several minutes walking around hanger, didn't know where to go, until he found a panel and the map of the ship. Then he looked through the schedule to see if he was assigned to any job except taking care of Lord Vader's son. Luckily, he wasn't, so Tin immediately made his way to where Luke's room was.

Tin spent most time of the trip trying to entertain Luke. The boy was pouting and on the edge of crying when he arrived. It turned out that Luke was scared of both the place. Actually, Luke wanted his father to stay with him, but Lord Vader was a busy man. So, Tin spent several hours in the boy's room until it's the boy's nap time. Then he had a chance to go explore his quarter and caught up with the rest of the cruiser.

 

 

The Star Destroyer was still in hyperspace as Tin approached his boss' quarter to give a report about his son. The security outside let him in easily, and now Tin was standing in front of his boss.

"How is my son?"

His boss spoke before Tin had a chance to. His voice was smooth, but there was something in it. Something that Tin wasn't sure what it was, but it was new.

"He's asleep now," Tin replied, thinking hard on what he should or what he shouldn't tell apart from his standard report. "We played games until it's his nap time. He had mastered some puzzle games we used to play. And even that he complained about his lessons, he had finished all of his homework before I brought the game in." Tin finished his report and waited for the response. Actually he wanted to tell more, but decided against it. He wasn't sure that his boss would be pleased if he dared suggesting some changes in Luke's daily routine.

"Excellent," his boss nodded. "Is there something more?"

 _Shit, I forgot that he can read people's minds or sort of._ Tin gulped. He could feel himself sweating under the cool air. However, Tin knew better than to try lying to the Sith Lord in front of him. "Um, Master Luke had been wondering why there is only him in each classes. I mean; he…um…he's wondering why you don't send him to school."

His boss was quiet for a while. Tin hoped that if his boss was going to kill him, it's going to be quick.

"School, you said?" Lord Vader nodded. "Very well, and what did you tell him?"

"I told him that I wasn't the one to answer that, sir," Tin replied. "I um…I told him that he had to ask you."

"He hadn't asked" was a statement more than a reply, and also a question. Tin didn't know what to say, so he remained quiet and waited.

"What else did he complain to you?"

"Not much sir," Tin replied, keeping his voice neutral as he answered. He hoped that Lord Vader wouldn't punish Luke for this. "He was bored of the citadel and some of the lessons." Tin wondered if he should keep the part about Luke asking about his mother to himself or not. The boy didn't seem to be sad that he only had his father.

"I sense that there is more, sergeant"

Tin inhaled sharply, a bit startled by the voice that turned colder and that his boss was stepping closer. He kept himself upright and tried to calm his nerve as he answered. "He asked me about his mother, my lord. He wanted to know about his mother and you. I told him that he would have to ask you." Tin braced for a punishment after that. He had a feeling that his boss wouldn't be in a good mood after hearing this.

Lord Vader was quiet for a while. Tin hoped that he wasn't angry. When Lord Vader was angry he tended to torture people before killing them.

"You are dismissed," was what his boss said after a period of uncomfortable silence. Tin had to make sure that he was walking instead of running out of the room.

Relief washed over him as Tin made his way back to Luke's room. Lord Vader's son was still sleeping when Tin arrived, so he spent his time on the holo-net, planning a trip around Naboo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your supports guys! I really appreciate it. To be honest, at first I think that no one was going to read this story.
> 
> This chapter is a little bit long, tell me if you prefer the next chapter to be shorter or anything!

 

 

 

"Naboo is beautiful!"

"It is," Tin nodded as he watched the city came nearer and nearer to their view. Theed. A beautiful human capital city of Naboo. "This is Theed, a capital city of Naboo, young master."

"Wow," Luke smiled as he stood on his toe to watch the beautiful city through the ship's window. Tin smiled and shook his head. He turned to look at the pilot who was also smiling. Unlike the presence of his father, Luke's presence seemed to be bringing lights and happiness to everywhere he goes.

"Our first stop will be at the Imperial facility where we'll stay during our time here," Tin said. "Then we'll take a trip around Theed, exploring the city." It's his surprise that Lord Vader approved of the schedule he arranged the first time he sent it to his boss for approval and permission.

"I can't wait to visit that place." The boy replied as he pointed to a group of round beautiful buildings located near a cliff with a large waterfall. "What is that place?"

"That is Theed Royal Palace, young master." Tin replied. "I'm sorry, but we're not allowed to visit the palace in this time of the year. They rarely let anyone visit, not even their own citizens unless there is a festival or a celebration."

Luke pouted but didn't complain. The boy spent several seconds on his toes until Tin called Luke to take the seat as they're about to land.

 

A squad of elite Stormtroopers approached them after the shuttle had landed. They're Luke's bodyguards. The leader was known as Captain Coyote. Tin had been introduced to him briefly while they're on the Star Destroyer. Captain Coyote and his squad was one of the very first squads to be deployed to Naboo after the Star Destroyer reached the planet. Their job was to make sure the place was secured. And after the area was secured, the rest followed. Lord Vader leaded half of the troopers in the Star Destroyer to the Imperial facilities on Naboo before attending the meeting. Luke and Tin were in the last group to leave the cruiser.

"Sergeant,"

"Captain," Tin nodded at the head of Luke's security. "I hope that everything is as it should be?"

"It is," Captain Coyote nodded. "This way," and then he gestured for Luke and Tin to follow. Behind them were the droids that were responsible for their luggage.

Tin could tell that Luke was a little afraid of Captain Coyote and his men. The boy stayed closer to him than usual, almost clinging to his leg. Tin wasn't sure what to do, he felt sorry for the boy but at the same time he was proud that his young master could hold himself together.

 

Luke's quarter was on the East side of the highest floor. It featured a large balcony with a nice view on Theed Royal Palace and the city itself. Tin's room was in Luke's quarter too, right beside Luke's bedroom.

Captain Coyote and his men stood guard as Luke, Tin, and the droids went inside the quarter. By Tin's standard, this quarter was better than in Darim. It might be too plain, but Tin was sure that he and Luke would manage.

Tin directed the droids to load the boy's clothes and stuffs in as quickly as they could, before turning to Luke who was already at the balcony.

"Will we be…alone?" Luke asked. "I just don't like…Captain Coyote and his friends…"

"Master Luke," Tin shook his head, a soft smile on his face. "It's okay to be scared."

"I…" Luke gulped. The boy was hesitated; Tin could tell. "…I…but…Father said that I must not be scared, it's a feeling for the weak…"

 _Shit, I hope Lord Vader will spare me_ ; now it's time for Tin to gulp. He hoped he would not cross the line here. "Well, but you cannot stop being scared by something unless you accept that you're scared. So, to not be scared is to accept that you can be scared."

"I…" Luke seemed confused. "I've to be scared first…to be able to stop being scared?"

"Yes, that's right." Tin nodded. "So, back to your question. I'm sorry to say that we won't be alone, but Captain Coyote and his crews won't be too close."

"Okay," Luke nodded and didn't say anything else. The boy seemed to have making up his mind and Tin sighed, hoping that Lord Vader wouldn't mind him telling Luke that it's okay to be scared sometimes.

 

 

They started the trip around the city after Luke had his lunch. Tin described each important places they had passed as the speeders made its way around the peaceful city. Luke listened with interest and always asked Tin questions after questions about the place he was interested in.

Captain Coyote and his squad were not far behind, but kept their distances and pretended that they're on their routine patrol not driving in a giant loose circle surrounded Tin and Luke who were on a Gian speeder. Lord Vader had mentioned before the clone sent his schedules for his boss to check that he didn't want to draw any attention to Luke during their stay on Naboo. So, the best way to do that was to pretend that Luke and Tin were also the Naboo, and that meant dressing like the locals and using the Naboo's local vehicles instead of the Imperial's.

They spent only an hour and a half to cover everything but that's not all; Tin already had a place for Luke to visit today. It's a museum, a Museum of Vehicles, located just several blocks away from the Imperial's facility.

 

"A Museum of Vehicles?" Luke read the sign above the entrance to the big white building with interest. "Do I have to remember the vehicles in side?" The boy asked with nervous voice. Tin immediately understood what Luke meant. The boy thought that this was a part of his lesson which he had to remember the vehicles and their military purposes.

"No, not all of them, just the ones that you want to tell Lord Vader about," Tin replied with a soft smile. He knew Luke was bored of one of his lesson that required him to remember Imperial ships. He hoped that by going to this place, Luke might be more interested in vehicles and found that lesson more enjoyable.

"Okay," Luke nodded and followed Tin into the museum. Half of Luke bodyguards followed not far behind, but not close enough to make the boy felt uncomfortable or drew attention toward them. Also, Captain Coyote and some of his men had gone inside first to make sure that the area was safe.

 

The museum was as impressive as the comments on the holonet suggested. The first floor was filled with shuttles from various eras and some part of the engines for larger ships that were too big to put in the building. Luke was very happy to see new things and the real things after he had been looking at their pictures from a holopad.

"A Republic Assault Gunship and an AT-ET walker," Luke read the sign that was in front of a familiar vehicle - familiar for Tin. This were the vehicles he would be in a lot if the Clone War wasn't over yet. "The AT-TE can hold up to as much as seven crews…" the boy started reading and Tin let him.

"There are more on the second and the third floor." The clone said after Luke finished admiring the Gunship and the AT-ET. "To that room is Naboo's original ships exhibition, and that room other vehicles from all over the galaxy. Which do you want to see first, young master?" Tin asked, pointing at two large doors that leaded to different exhibitions.

"I want to see Naboo's ship first" was the reply, and Tin took the boy to the room on the right.

The first exhibit was Naboo's Shelter Speeder, a mobile laboratory with high-tech sensors. Luke read the sign aloud and his little voice echoed slightly in this large hall.

The next display was a Naboo Royal Starship. It was used by many of Naboo's royalists to travel on diplomatic missions. Besides the Naboo Royal Starship was Naboo Star Yacht. This slim silver ship with a needle-nose was belonged to the Royal House of Naboo.

"…this was the same ship Padmé Amidala often used to travel…" Luke read the sign aloud before turning to Tin. "Who is Padmé Amidala?" The boy point at the picture of a woman near the description on the sign.

"She was a queen of Naboo who became a Republic senator shortly before the Clone War." Tin replied. He was glad that the Academy had educated the clones about the important political leaders from the Clone War eras and the present time. "She was sick and passed away at the end of the Clone War."

"…I…." Luke started and stopped midway. He then turned to look at the picture again. And if Tin wasn't mistaken, he thought the look in the boy's eyes were some kind of longing and curious. "…where is she now?" Luke asked, his small hands were placed on the bottom of her picture.

Tin wasn't sure if the boy meant her body or did Luke not understand the word 'pass away'. He wasn't sure if he should explain that she was dead, or simply said where her body was. "Her mausoleum is in this city, young master." In the end, Tin decided to conclude that Luke knew what the word 'pass away' meant.

"Can we visit that place?" Luke asked, his eyes were still on the woman's picture.

"Why do you want to visit her mausoleum, Master Luke?" Tin asked the boy out of curiosity. Padmé Amidala's mausoleum wasn't in his list of places for Luke to visit. Also, Tin wasn't sure if the place would allow people to visit without permission.

"I…I don't know." Luke shook his head. "But I have a feeling that I have to see her. I… I just feel like I need to see her."

 _Okay, this is new._ Tin thought. _The boy has never said something like this before._ _I have a feeling that Lord Vader will want to know about this. Oh wait, I can't keep anything from him anyway._

"I will see if the mausoleum will let us visit or will we need to ask for a permission first." Tin replied, deciding that he should get Luke going if they wanted to cover the museum in time.

They covered the Naboo's vehicle exhibition in half an hour later before moving on to the other room. This room stored exhibits of ships and their engines from all over the galaxy of the time before the Galactic Empire.

On the second floor was the exhibition of the Separatist ships. And on the third floor was the Galactic Empire's vehicles. They went through everything within an hour and a half. Tin was glad that they're on time, as same as Captain Coyote and his squads.

 

 

Luke was asleep as they made their way back to the facility. The boy also climbed onto Tin's lap and used the clone as a pillow before he fall asleep.

"He's all tuckered out," Captain Coyote commented as he drove the speeder closer to check on Tin and Luke. Tin nodded, smiling as he softly caressed Luke's hair. It might start off as his duty to take care of the boy, but right now it's not all about duty. Tin did care deeply for the child.

They reached the facility quickly and Tin gently held the boy up. Luke stirred but didn't wake up. He did turn and throw his arms around Tin's neck, resting his head on the clone's shoulder and continued to sleep. Tin sighed and carried the boy to the elevator, Captain Coyote was in front of him while the rested surround Tin and Luke.

"Lord Vader is here?" Captain Coyote, who was in front of Tin, mused as he exited the elevator. Tin frowned and understood as he followed the Captain out. There were elite troopers in red armours in front of the door to Luke's quarter; Lord Vader's Security Force.

Tin found Lord Vader in Luke's bedroom, staring out of the window. His boss turned to them as Tin entered with Luke still asleep in his arms.

"Lord Vader," Tin bowed slightly, wasn't sure what he should do. He had never met his boss while holding Luke before. He hoped that Lord Vader wouldn't mind him holding the boy liked this.

"How is my son, sergeant?" Lord Vader spoke, it's a command for a report not a question.

"He's very happy with today's schedule, sir," Tin answered, slowly walking toward Luke's bed. He hoped that Lord Vader wouldn't mind him putting Luke on his bed while giving the report. He had no problem reporting the events of today, until it came to the part about the late queen of Naboo. This had he hesitated." Tin wasn't sure how should he talk about Luke wanting to visit Padmé Amidala's mausoleum and what the boy felt about the late queen of Naboo.

Lord Vader didn't say anything but walked closed to the bed. Tin stepped back and watched as his boss gently caressed Luke's hair, before looking up.

"Is there something more?" was also a command for him to continue, not a question.

"Master Luke wished to visit Padmé Amidala's mausoleum, my Lord," Tin replied. "He said that he had a feeling that he need to see her."

Lord Vader was silent after that, even his hand stopped moving. Tin hoped that this wouldn't be something Luke must not feel. He feared for the boy. Luke had never met his father's anger before, and Tin had prayed that such day would never come.

"Leave us" was all Lord Vader said. His voice offered no emotion despite his usual coldness. Tin bowed and left the room on autopilot. He hoped that this wouldn't be something serious, and that Lord Vader wouldn't punish his son for wanting to visit the mausoleum.

 

Tin just finished arranging the dinner for Luke when Lord Vader walked out of the room. His boss didn't offer any guesses as he turned toward Tin. His voice was his usual cold and slight mechanical.

"Tomorrow morning, I will take Luke to visit the mausoleum," his boss said. "Arrange the lunch to be served at Lake Country, we will visit Varykino and the Naberrie family in the afternoon."

"As you wish, Lord Vader," Tin bowed and waited until his boss left that he immediately checked on Luke. Lord Vader's son was still in his bed as Tin entered. The boy seemed fine, unharmed and still sleeping. And the clone sergeant released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

Tin then proceeded to make sure that dinner would be ready by the time Luke had woken up. Actually, Tin was surprised that Lord Vader would take Luke with him on his visit to the Naberrie family. And he's even more surprised that Lord Vader would go to the mausoleum with Luke tomorrow morning. By schedule, his boss wouldn't be free to take Luke around until the third day of their visit, but Tin wasn't the one to question his boss. He wasn't that stupid.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A trip to the mausoleum was gloomy. Tin had a feeling that his boss wasn't in a mood to talk or to tolerate nonsenses, even Luke grew quiet after they entered the vehicles, so he and the other kept their mouths shut.

The mausoleum was on the outskirt of the city. It's a white building built in the middle of greenness of a park large enough to park an Imperial cruiser. Lord Vader and Luke entered the mausoleum in silence. His boss' bodyguard didn't follow them inside, so Tin guessed that they all would have to wait outside. He wished that Luke wouldn't be punished for wanting to come here, he hadn't seen his boss grew so quiet except that he had something in mind or when he was angry.

Around an hour later, Lord Vader and his son emerged. Everything looked normal, except that Luke wasn't as talkative as he used to be when he was with his father, but he didn't look like he was in pain either. The boy seemed to be…considering something.

 _Well, at least that better than what Lord Vader always treat other who were too curious for their own good_ , Tin thought as he followed both of them back to the shuttle. Now they're going to the Lake Country.

 

Tin had to admit that Lake Country was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. Even Luke became talkative as soon as they approached the valley full with several lakes. Tin mentally smiled as he watched Luke bouncing up and down, trying to get as much view from the window as possible, before giggling when Lord Vader held him up by the Force, so that his head was at the same level as the window.

The shuttle landed softly on the greenest field Tin had ever seen. Surrounded them were small waterfalls and beautiful streams. Tin stayed behind while his boss and Luke explored the area. His job was to make sure that lunch was ready when the two got back.

 

 

They travelled to Varykino after lunch. It's a lake retreat in the Lake Country own by the Naberrie family. Ruwee and Jobal Naberrie came to greet them. Tin couldn't help but notice a founding look Jobal sent to Luke. He also saw the longing in their eyes and had a feeling that he shouldn't try to understand what he saw. It's for his own sake.

"Look after my son while I attend the business here," Lord Vader said to him and Captain Coyote shortly before entering a meeting room with the oldest Naberrie who were still alive. The guards took their position around the meeting room and the balcony, leaving Luke with Tin and Captain Coyote.

"My father said that I am allowed to walk around but I must not enter the meeting room," Luke said, already grabbing Tin's hand. "Let's go. I want to see the lake."

"As you wish, young master," Tin said and let Luke dragged him toward the porch built from stone that had a view of the lake and the mountains behind it. Captain Coyote followed close behind.

 

After the meeting, Lord Vader let Luke introduced himself to Jobal and Ruwee Naberrie under his watch. Ruwee offered no expression while Jobal looked like she was about to burst into tears any minutes now. Tin had his suspicious, but he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't pry, no, he would pretend that he saw nothing and try his best to forget everything he saw today as quickly as possible. Luke had fallen asleep during their trip back and was still sleeping as the shuttle landed on the platform.

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

**Seven days later**

 

Tin hummed as he adjusted his shirt. Today was the last day they would spend on Naboo. They would be heading back to Darim this evening after the gala dinner at Theed Royal Palace. Luke was very happy because today he would be let into Theed Royal Palace. It's the first time he would be out in public with his father. Despite Luke's excitement, Tin dreaded today's gala. To be honest, Tin knew almost nothing about gala dinner. He was raised to be a soldier not a spy or someone who would have partying-skill. Moreover, he didn't get much information except where Luke would be sitting and which persons Lord Vader would be introducing to his son.

"Where are we going today?" Luke asked during breakfast with a huge smile on his face. The boy had been very energetic since yesterday afternoon that he knew he would have a chance to visit Theed Royal Palace this evening.

"Dee'ja Peak, Gallo Mountains, young master," Tin replied, clicking the button to make the device in his hand popped up a hologram picture of a beautiful agriculture area. "It's a farming community. The place has nice places for sightseeing and some farms also allowing visitors."

"Will I have a chance to ride a Shaak?" Luke asked. "I've seen many Gungans and humans ride them in Theed."

"I guess one of the farms might have Shaaks for tourists to ride," Tin said, connecting to the holonet to check. "We will deport as soon as you're ready, master Luke."

 

 

 

 

They took an express train from Theed to Galla Mountains instead of the Imperial shuttle as Lord Vader didn't wish to draw any attention toward his son during their stay. Tin booked himself and Luke VIP seats because there would be less people in the VIP carriages. And while Tin and Luke pretended to be just another Naboos travelling to Gallo Mountain, Captain Coyote and his men boarded the train and pretended that this was a routine check. Most of the Naboo didn't like seeing Imperial troopers here, but they could only glare as Captain Coyote and his men walked up and down the train with one pair of Stormtroopers stood guard at the entrance to the VIP carriage.

Once reached the Gallo Mountain station, they travelled to Dee'ja Peak by rented speeder bikes and a landspeeder. Luke pouted when he saw that he had to travel on a landspeeder with Tin and murmured that he wanted to ride a speeder bike just like the Stormtroopers. Tin could only mentally groaned; he honestly wanted to tell the boy that Lord Vader would kill him if he let Luke ride one of those bike.

They rode to Dee'ja Peak, following a group of local people and travellers who were heading there too. Tin had to say that Captain Coyote and his men were excellent at pretending not to be guarding anyone but actually they're in a formation that would be best to protect Luke in case anything happen.

Dee'ja Peak appeared from the horizon within three minutes after they left the station. In seven minutes, they're at the entrance to the community. The first stop was a farm that had Shaaks for tourists to ride. Luke was lucky that the farm had a baby Shaaks for children too because Tin wouldn't let the boy ride the adult one with one of the farmer. Of course these people seemed to be harmless, but one could not be too careful.

 

 

They're scheduled to go back to Theed around two hours after lunch. Luke was already half-asleep by the time they reached the train station. He clung to Tin's arm and eventually the clone had to hold him up. The boy yawned and smiled, resting his head on Tin's shoulder and ready to take a nap.

"Tin," Luke called, nuzzling his head against Tin's shoulder. "Next time we visit Naboo, I want to take my father here. I want to ride a Shaak with him."

Tin couldn't imagine Luke riding a Shaak with his boss. Actually, he could image that, but the image was too terrified and hilarious. So, Tin just smiled and stepped into the VIP carriage when the door opened. In the corner of his eyes, he saw Captain Coyote and his crew pretending to be checking the station before dividing into pairs and entering different carriages of the train.

As Tin helped Luke into his seat, he couldn't help but feel as if something was off. He subtly looked around but found nothing. There're only twelve people in the VIP carriages, most of them seating very far from one another. There're only three people seating together at the back of the carriage. A mother, a father, and a son.

Tin sat down on his seat as the driver announced that they would be heading to Theed soon. Tin and Luke's seat were at the front of the carriage, with a window that let them see the beautiful scenery of Naboo's country side. However, unlike the trip to Gallo Mountains, Luke was now half asleep.

 

Tin spent the first twenty minutes on high alert, but slowly relaxed as nothing happened. However, when they're halfway to Theed, Luke suddenly woke up with a gasp. Tin immediately turned to the boy, asking if he was feeling alright. Luke shook his head, small hands grabbing Tin's arm tightly as his shoulders tensed up.

"There are bad people in here," the boy said quickly, innocent blue eyes widened and filled with fear. "They want to take the train. They have guns."

"Young master, calm down," Tin took set one hand on Luke's shoulder and started rubbing to ease the tension in the boy's shoulder. His voice was calm and gentle despite himself being on a high alert right now. "Now, please repeat what you just said, you say there are bad people in here?" he asked calmly, another hand reaching for his comm. If Luke wasn't Lord Vader's son, Tin would probably just listen and didn't take the boy's words seriously.

"Yes," Luke nodded quickly. "I saw them. They're in another carriage. The leader wears a white scarf. They have guns."

Tin immediately commed Captain Coyote. "Captain, Master Luke suspects that there's going to be a train hijacking. Please check the area. The suspects have weapons and their leader wears a white scarf."

" _Copy that Sergeant, stay where you are"_ was the reply. Tin then turned to Luke who still hadn't let go of his arm.

"Master Luke, I need you to listen to me," Tin said. "Please remain calm and tell me more about them. What more did you see?" He guessed that Luke must have seen them in his dream. He had heard that many Force users could see a future in their sleep.

"They dress just like other people," Luke replied, the boy's brow furrowed as he tried to picture his latest dream. "They…one of them have a bomb. They…" Luke's eyes widened. "They kill Dex!"

Dex was one of Luke's bodyguard. Tin remembered seeing Dex and his partner entering the carriage in the middle when they boarded the train.

Tin was about to call Captain Coyote when he heard a sound of faint gunfire. He immediately shot up from his seat, one hand on the comm while the other on a blaster which was hidden under his long shirt.

"Captain Coyote, what happened?" Tin asked as he looked around the carriage in time to see one of the Stormtrooper guarding the entrance running out of the door to another carriage, a blaster ready to shoot. The other one was on high alert too. And the people in the VIP carriage started to notice that something was wrong.

" _They've started hijacking the train. They're trying to get to the driver. Dex and Somber are down. I'm sending White and Bob to you, we're going to cut your carriage from the rest."_

There were sounds of gunfire coming through the comm. They had planned that if something happened, they're going to detach the rest of the carriages from the VIP carriages which connected to the engine. Tin had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but it seemed like they had no choice.

"Roger that Captain," Tin replied, eyes trained on the entry to the VIP carriage. The sound of gunfire was coming nearer and nearer and the passengers in the same carriages as them was even more panicked. Luke had stood up. The boy's hands were now grabbing on Tin's shirt. Tin still had one hand on his blaster, the other on his comm.

Two Stormtroopers ran into the carriage. "Get down! Get down!" They shouted as they ran toward Luke and Tin. The first Stormtrooper who had been there since the first time ran toward them too.

Tin pushed Luke down and got down in time before the bomb planned on the passage between two carriages went off. The passengers in the carriage screamed and the other boy in the carriage started crying.

"Tin…" Luke pulled his shirt and Tin kneeled down. He didn't need to be the mind-reader to know that Luke was scared; the boy was on the edge of crying, so Tin pulled him close.

"Don't worry Master Luke, everything will be alright," he said. Besides him, White was talking to the officer at the Imperial facility in Theed, reporting the situation.

"Tin, they're here," Luke whispered, hands clutching his shirt. "They're in the carriage."

Tin looked up in time to see Bob and the other Stormtrooper got shot by one of the passengers that were screaming in panic a moment earlier. It turned out that only the family whose seats were at the back of the carriage that were not one of these criminals. White immediately shot back, no need to continue reporting since the troopers on the other end of the line now knew what happened. Bob got up while the other Stormtrooper stayed down. They shot at all seven of the passengers while Tin kneeled down behind them, covering Luke with his body.

Bob and White got all seven passengers down, but then the door toward the locomotive opened and Bob was blasted. The shot was so powerful that it sent the Stormtrooper flying and knocking hard against the wall behind. White shot at the newcomers, and got shot back. He staggered backward, the shot did injure him but didn't kill him yet. More people ran in, leading by a man wearing a white scarf.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" The man in a white scarf shouted as he entered. White grunted and kept himself in front of Tin, blaster rifle ready to shoot if prompted. Tin stood up now, a blaster in his hand, the other hand was on Luke who was clinging to his leg.

"Hello, fellow soldiers!" The man with a white scarf then turned to them. "Hi, I will keep this short. You handover the boy and we will make your dead painless. This will also guarantee that the boy will not be injure. What do you think?"

 _No kriffing way that's going to happen_ ; Tin thought, his hold on Luke tightened. But they had to work fast, these criminals were not going to patiently wait for them to decide. Tin and White immediately changed to plan B. Outnumbered and without an escape, White abruptly turned his back to the criminal and shot at the window behind Tin while the clone picked Luke up and jumped backward, sending his body out of the window and the train, White followed closed.

Those criminals started firing as soon as they knew what happened, but it's too late, White, Tin and Luke were already out.

Tin hugged Luke closed and curled into a ball with the boy inside. The railway was on top of a rocky hill, so all of them were forced to roll downhill for several seconds before coming to a stop. White was protected by the armour, but Tin was not. He grunted as his body hit many sharp rocks during his way down. Most of them torn his shirt opened and scratched his back with their sharp edges. Nevertheless, Luke was safe, protected by Tin's body.

"Tin! Are you alright?" Luke asked as soon as he untangle himself from Tin. Tin tried to answer and then hissed as he felt pain shot through his body. It appeared that the rock had got him not only on his back, but his arms, his legs, and also the back of his neck. He was mildly bleeding, mostly from the wounds on his back.

"I'm okay, no need to worry about me," Tin replied as gently as he could and tried not to curse as he got up. _It has to be this place of all the places we will pass!_ Tin cursed his luck as this was the only part of the railway that was built on rocky hills. If those criminals decided to start their operation several minutes before or after this, he could have landed on grasses not rocks.

"We need to move," White spoke up, he was looking at the horizon with his visor down on his eyes' level. "I doubt they will give up just because we've escaped from the train."

"We cannot outrun them," Tin spoke, now fully stood up. Pain shot through his body but the clone did his best to ignore it.

"There're two speeders coming up," White said, a visor on his helmet was down to eyes level, hands snapping his normal E-11 blaster rifle to his back and grabbed a sniper rifle instead. "I'll get us the speeders, go hide behind that rock, don't come out until I tell you so," the elite Stormtrooper pointed toward the large rock several meters away.

Tin immediately grabbed Luke and held the boy up before running toward said rock. Luke clung to him and wouldn't let go even when they're behind the rock.

"I'm scared," once behind the cover, the boy let his tears fell. He buried his face with Tin's shoulder as he cried.

"Shh, it will be over soon. I promise," Tin whispered hugging the boy as Luke threw both arms over his shoulders. "Don't worry young master, I'll protect you."

Luke pulled away from his shoulder to stare at him for several seconds. Tin wasn't sure what this meant, but then the boy smiled and hugged him. "Thank you Tin," Luke said snuggled close.

 _Why do I feel like something important just happen?_ Tin thought, frowning before mentally kicked himself. _This is not the time! You've to focus on the present!_

Tin kept himself and Luke well-hidden behind the rock. Luke did nothing but hugged him and stared into the view of green field ahead the rocky area. Several minutes after that they heard four gunshot. There was a shout between each shots and then nothing. Luke pressed himself against Tin as the clone tensed up, ready to run if needed to.

" _I've got the speeders, let's move,"_

White called through the comm and Tin released the breath he didn't know he was holding. Tin quickly got up, ignoring his pain as he jogged toward two speeder bikes. White had managed to shot the speeders with stunt setting to make them stop working before shooting the riders with killing mode. The elite Stormtrooper was already on one of the bike.

"I've contacted the facility that we now have speeder bikes, they've sent a shuttle to pick us up," White said. "It's not far from here."

"Hey, looks like you've got to ride a bike like you've wished," Tin teased Luke after placing the boy on the area in front of the driver seat. Luke did smile and Tin, for a brief moment, felt like they're going to be alright - everything was going to be okay. "Hold on tight," the clone said before getting on the speeder bike, half worried that the boy would fall off during their way to the rendezvous which were several kilometers away.

The criminals didn't give up so easily, just liked White had predicted. After they left the rocky area, crossed the field, and made their way into the woods, White alerted Tin of the criminals waiting for them.

"They're several speeders after us from the North and the South," the Stormtrooper said. "My guess is they're planning on cornering us. I'll be the decoy, you take young master to the rendezvous."

"Got it," Tin grunted and speeded up the bike. Luke's hold on him tightened as he speeded through the forest. Gunfire was heard as White did his job. Now it's just Tin and Luke now.

 

"Almost there, almost there," Tin whispered to himself, one hand reached for his blaster as he heard speeders closing in. In the corner of his eyes, Tin saw one of the criminal emerged from the lines of trees. Tin wasn't hesitate to blast him. He got that scumbag in the chest and sent the man falling off the speeder. The vehicle without its rider then crashed into a tree and exploded.

More speeders coming up and trying to box him in. Tin blasted another two as he raced to the rendezvous point. He's lucky these criminals wanted Luke alive, or they would be more confident to shoot him.

As he started to see where the woods ended, Tin saw the same man with a white scarf on a speeder bike not far behind. The leader seemed to be participating in this chase too.

"Hand the boy over!" One of the criminal shouted. "Hand him over or we will start…"

Tin blasted the scumbag before he could finish. The man fell off the bike with a painful scream. One of them shouted something very appropriate in anger and shot Tin's bike. The speeder bike swayed and Tin knew that he and Luke would be dead if they stayed on this vehicle any longer. By instinct, Tin grabbed Luke and sprang both of them away from the speeder. He curved himself around Luke as they landed, luckily that this time he landed on grasses.

 _I made it out_ , Tin thought as pain shot through him. This time it's worse. It seemed like one of those bastards had got his left shoulder and stomach. Also, he might have broken his right leg. The burn from the blasted wounds and the pain in his right legs were immensurable but Tin bit the screamed down as he uncurled himself. _At least Luke wasn't injured_ , the clone tried to be optimism as he bit his bottom lip to stop himself from screaming.

Luke shouted something and there were sounds of speeder engines. Tin tried to sit up but his body was too injured to move as he wanted. His senses were half blinded by the pain that erupted all over his body. Still, Tin managed to get to a half sitting position with his back to the woods. He craned his neck and saw several speeders appeared, also the criminals and their leader.

 _Come on! Move!_ Tin screamed at his body as his hand slowly reached for his blaster. He knew he couldn't do much, but at least he might be able to buy time for the Imperial. _Almost there!_ Tin grinded his teeth as his hand finally grabbed the blaster's handle.

The pain was too great for Tin to make out the words the criminals were talking as they got off their speeders, but he knew from Luke's reaction that it frightened the boy.

"…kill him" Tin managed to make out the last two words of the leader as the man pointed at him. _Kill me?_ Tin thought, and understood as one of the criminal point his blaster at him. But then Luke, who didn't run away and stay at his side all the time, screamed and pushed the air in front of him with his hands. Then the criminal who just pointed his blaster at Tin was thrown away as if there was an invisible hand pulling him back.

 _That's impossible…no…that's possible… He is Lord Vader's son._ Tin almost smiled if not because the threat was still there. The criminals might be surprised, but they would recover soon. He had to think of something, something to distract them until the Imperial arrived. _Or maybe I should tell Luke to run, no, Luke won't be able to outrun them…_

Then, he heard a hummed of a ship. Tin looked up and saw an Imperial Dropship Transport approaching. _The Imperial, finally!_ He thought as the ship got closer and closer. Then there was a familiar black figure jumping out of the ship with a red lightsaber in his hand.

 _Lord Vader!_ Tin felt relief washed over him as he watched his boss landed down between him and the criminal. _Now Luke is safe, but this is going to be too violent for the boy his age,_ Tin thought. Despite his pain and the need to just close his eyes and let himself passed out, Tin dropped the blaster and grabbed Luke's arm, drawing the boy's attention to him.

"Young master," Tin called, doing his best to ignore the scream of those criminals and the sounded of a lightsaber moving through the air. "Are you hurt?"

"No," Luke shook his head, holding his arms up for Tin to see. "Just a scratch. It didn't hurt anymore." Then the boy gasped when he noticed how red Tin's shirt had become. "You're bleeding! Father!..."

"No, no…" Tin immediately grabbed Luke's hand. "I'm okay. Your father is busy. The doctor will be here soon. I'm okay."

"You're not okay." The boy looked like he was about to cry. "You're bleeding. And you're hurt. You're very hurt."

 _Is Luke able to read my mind just like his father?_ Tin thought, still trying to keep the smile on his face. _Well, he's able to use the Force, maybe now he has an ability to read other's mind too._

"Don't worry, I'm going to be okay," nevertheless, Tin desperately tried to keep Luke's attention toward him instead of the slaughtering behind. But now he had a new problem. After the adrenaline was gone since Tin's body knew now that Luke was safe, pain was overthrowing his conscious. He was going to pass out soon.

Luke was saying something but Tin was no longer able to make out the boy's words. His consciousness was slipping, but at least he could make out the white figures of the Stormtrooper running toward them.

The last things Tin saw before he passed out were the medic kneeling down beside Luke and the boy's worried face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC.

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

 

The sound of someone talking woke Tin up. The first thing he felt was numbness. His limbs felt like they're made form stone. _What happened?_ The clone thought, trying to move his hands but ended up only able to make his fingers twitch. Then he remembered what happened. The train, those criminals, the chase, and red lightsaber swinging around.

 _Luke! Ngh, he's alright. Lord Vader arrived in time._ Tin thought, slowly cracked his eyes opened. _Damn, my eyelids feel so heavy and my throat feels like it's full with sand. How long have I been out?_ He thought and closed his eyes, waiting for his body to be more awake before trying to open his them again. _Okay, slowly, slowly, there you go…_ His vision was blurry at first, but soon Tin was able to make out a plain white ceiling.

The clone looked to his left and saw an IV stabbed to his left arm. There were two bags hanging from the pole besides his bed. _One must be saline, the other…painkiller? Probably. That explains the numbness._

Tin turned to the right and saw the doctor talking to someone wearing black clothes. _Oh, that's Lord Vader._ He couldn't make out what the doctor was talking but whatever, Tin didn't feel like he was ready for a conversation yet.

"Tin!"

 _Master Luke?_ Tin tried to search for the boy. _Where did his voice come from?_ Then the boy appeared into his line of sight. Lord Vader and the doctor turned toward him. Tin couldn't make out the doctor's expression, his vision was still too blurry for that distance. However, he could make out Luke's face as the boy approached his bed.

"Tin, you're awake!" Luke said, grabbing his right arm. "How are you feeling? Are you still hurt?" The boy looked like he would have climbed onto the bed if his father and the doctor weren't here.

"Young master…" Tin tried to speak and was surprised to hear how hoarse his voice was. He must have been out for a long time.

"You've been sleeping for three days." Luke said. "We're back on Darim now. The doctor said that you might wake up tomorrow. I'm so happy you're awake now. There are so many things I want to tell you…"

"Luke"

The boy was cut off by his father. Tin had been focused on Luke that he didn't notice the doctor walking away while Lord Vader had moved toward the bed. Luke stopped talking and turned back to his father, his small hands still on Tin's arm.

"It's almost your bedtime. Come."

"But I…" Luke was hesitated, but his father was having none of that.

"You can visit him tomorrow." Lord Vader went on. "But only after you finished your last class of the day."

"Okay," Luke gulped, nodding before letting go of Tin's hand. The clone watched the boy walked toward the door and disappeared, then, he realized that his boss didn't follow Luke out.

"Lord Vader," Tin turned to see that his boss was still standing by the bed. _Maybe he is about to punish me? Reasonable. I was responsible for the trip to Gallo Mountain._ He took a deep breath and continued. "I…"

"Sergeant," his boss cut his off. "You have showed great loyalty to my son, for that your lack of experiences and preparations will be forgiven. But I will not tolerate if such events happen again."

"Thank you Lord Vader," Tin immediately said, trying hard not to cough as he spoke. He was grateful that Lord Vader had forgiven him. Tin knew that even it's not his fault those criminals decided to hijack the train, and that he and Captain Coyote had prepared for the escape, it's still his fault. _Hey, wait…I remembered them trying to make me hand Luke over…_

Tin's conscious and reasonable side knew that this was stupid, and that he shouldn't try his luck, but curiosity got the best of him. "My lord. May I ask what those criminals wanted from Master Luke?" He asked and felt like wanting to hit his head against the wall because his sense had decided to come back after he had done something real stupid. _You idiot! Of all people you could have asked! You could have ask anyone after you're out of the infirmary. Lord Vader just forgave you for what happened!_

His boss was quiet and Tin started to think of all the methods Lord Vader had for torturing someone. Someone very stupid liked him. But to Tin's surprise, his boss just replied with his normal cold voice. "They mistook that I would negotiate. They had made a grave mistake." And then his boss turned away, walking toward the door.

 _Yes, real giant mistake. I hope he would not punish me for being the stupid trooper in this army. Wait, no, there always will be consequences, especially consequence for my stupidity._ Tin mentally scolded himself as he watched Lord Vader walking away. But then, his boss stopped in his tract.

"You are correct. There will always be consequences."

And then Lord Vader walked out of the room, just liked that. The door slid shut and now Tin was alone. _Great Tin, he just forgave you!_ He screamed at himself before closing his eyes. _May be sleep is the best thing to do right now. I will worry about other stuffs later._

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

After talking to the doctor, Tin decided that he was very lucky. His right leg wasn't broken, he only had a cracked bone. He would be able to walk around with a supporter for a while. He was blasted, but the blast didn't hit the internal organ, so he ended up with burnt wounds on his left shoulder, lateral right part of his stomach, and somewhere on the left part of his back. It would take days for these blasted wounds to stop hurting every time Tin moved. The others were scratches which would heal within a week.

 

Captain Coyote came to visit and fill Tin in on what happened. They had lost Dex, Bob, and another two Stormtroopers. Lord Vader had killed every criminal presented at that field except the leader. Their boss let that man lived a little bit longer to be tortured and killed after the interrogation. And while Tin was busy trying to get Luke to safety, Captain Coyote and the rest of Luke's bodyguards eliminated all the criminals on the train, except the ones that surrendered. They would be transported to a prison if they didn't die from the interrogation, of course.

"…you should have seen boss stormed the facility's main office." Captain Coyote said, grinning. "Lord Vader suspected that there was a leak among the Imperial officers. Very few knew about Master Luke's schedule. You, me, my team, Lord Vader, and several high ranked Imperial officers. It turned out that one of the officer had sold the schedule to these criminals. And I've to say that these scumbags were both idiot and bold to try kidnap Master Luke for money."

"What happened to him?" Tin asked, even that he already knew the answer. "Did Lord Vader kill him right away?"

"No, he made an example of what will happen to others who decide to go down the same path," Captain Coyote replied. "Tortures, and then killed. Not by his sorcery trick, tossed out of the airlock. The rest of the officers were very terrified."

"That's…quite an example," Tin had to agree with that. "Indeed an example."

"You should rest," Captain Coyote looked at the clock. "The doctor will release you tomorrow, I presume?"

"Yes," Tin nodded, sighing as he slowly laid down on his back. "He said that I should be able to do my job without much problems. And that I should be back to normal within a month."

"Good," Captain Coyote nodded, standing up. "I'm looking forward to see you back to work soon, see you later."

Tin watched the Captain left and sighed. This was the last night he's going to spend here.

The infirmary was quiet after Captain Coyote left, since Tin was the only one here. The doctor came to briefly check on Tin and let him rest. The clone spent ten minutes after that staring at the ceiling and looking around, waiting for his body to be ready for sleep.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tin was about to drift off to sleep when he heard the door slid open. The clone opened his eyes and quickly sat up, ignoring the pain from moving too fast, when he saw who had decided to visit him. Lord Vader.

Tin watched as his boss walked straight toward his bed. No word was said. Lord Vader lifted his hand and then Tin was flipped to lay on his stomach by an invisible hand. Then he was pulled toward the end of the bed. Invisible hands pulled his legs apart and a pillow was placed under him to pop his ass up.

Tin knew what was about to happen. He also knew that begging for his boss to wait until he had recovered was impossible. _But this is the first time I'm on a bed. At least I'm on a bed, a real one._ Tin tried to look on the bright side. _There is no need to wonder if this is going hurt more than those time he uses me; it's definitely going to hurt more than normal. Damnit, I'm still hurt by my own movements. Oh shit, I shouldn't be thinking about this. Dreading what's about to happen doesn't help._ And then Tin was back to reality when he felt his pants sliding down his legs. It seemed that trying to be optimism didn't work well this time.

Tin shivered as cool air touched his skin and braced himself for what to come. He was about to close his eyes when he saw Lord Vader's hand grabbing a switch that controlled the amount of painkiller being sent into his body. His boss then manually allowed a large volume of them to be injected into Tin's system before flipping the switch back to its original setting.

Tin didn't have time to think about what just happened because Lord Vader then grabbed his hips and pushed in after letting go of the switch. Strangely, it didn't hurt. _No, it doesn't hurt at all._ Tin still felt the intrusion but he didn't feel the burning pain he usually felt. He gasped as Lord Vader pulled out a little just to push in again, and this time his boss went in further.

Lord Vader spent a few minutes to completely seat inside Tin. After that, the pace was accelerated. The clone groaned softly as he was rocked back and forth by pure strength of his boss. Lord Vader might be famous about his ability to use the Force, but he's also physically powerful. Tin bit his lower lip to contain his voice. He knew Lord Vader didn't want him to be loud during this.

Then, his boss hit something inside him and Tin moaned. He didn't mean to do it. Getting choked because being too loud the first time Lord Vader used him was enough for Tin to learn that his boss preferred him to be quiet. However, this time Tin found it very hard to be quiet because now Lord Vader was hitting that sweet spot inside him every time he slammed in. Also, Tin had never experienced himself getting hard this fast in his life.

It's harder and harder to be quiet. Lord Vader was constantly hitting that spot and his cock, which was trapped under his body, was sliding against the pillow and then the bed sheet as Tin was pushed forward and back. The movement created such wonderful friction that made Tin wanted to moan so badly. In the end, Tin decided to bite down on his right arm that he managed to get in front of his face, trying to muffle his moan.

 _This…this is new… he gave me painkiller…oh, I'm hard…_ his brain felt as if it was made from jelly as Tin tried hard to think. _I've never felt something like this, he's hitting that spot…every… time…. I…oh…I'm going to…_

Tin orgasmed before he could finish his thought. The clone bit down on his right arm, trying his best to muffle his scream as his body twitched. And Lord Vader fucking him through his orgasm didn't help him much with trying to be quiet. Tears pricked the corner of his eyes as his cock was overstimulated and gave in to spill out a bit more before started to soften.

Lord Vader hadn't finished yet and Tin groaned softly at the feeling of his boss moving inside him. He was even more grateful to have that extra painkiller before this. Tin was sure that his body was going to be super sore tomorrow.

However, something unexpected happened. Tin was slowly getting hard again from the stimulation he still received. He moaned in surprised as he realized that his cock was hardening and would be back to full hardness in no time. _What's happening?_ This time Tin felt like his brain was swimming in a pool of glue. _I…this can't be… I've never…_

Then Lord Vader lifted him up, hands gripped so tight on his hips that Tin was sure they were going to leave bruises. Now his ass, upper thighs, and cock were in the air. The pace was even more brutal and Tin cried out when he was pushed over the edge again. The euphoria made Tin barely notice that Lord Vader hadn't choked him for being this loud. And then his boss gave one last slam and finished inside him.

Lord Vader pulled out and dropped him down on the bed after that. Tin was panting as his mind tried to catch up with what just happened. He didn't even bother to see where his boss was now, he was sure that Lord Vader would just leave him here.

Tin knew that he would be absolutely mortified if someone came in and saw him now; legs still spread with cum all over the mattress and himself. However, he didn't find the energy to move. Tin told himself that at least he should be pulling his pants up, crawling up the bed or anything. But no, his eyes felt so heavy and Tin knew he was about to fall asleep every moment now.

With sheer will, Tin moved himself up the bed. He was still panting as he reached for his pants, pulling it up and ignored the stickiness in his ass and his stomach, and also the wet spot on the mattress. His head hit the pillow and Tin passed out.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

To his surprise, Tin woke up and found that someone had cleaned him and also changed the bed sheet. So, despite the soreness Tin felt clean and comfortable. However, realizing that someone had probably seen him naked with semen sticking to his skin made Tin's cheeks heated up with embarrassment.

 _Now someone knows I was used by Lord Vader._ Tin covered his face with his hand. _Shit, maybe that person doesn't know. Maybe he came in later and saw only me. Maybe he doesn't know it's Lord Vader and starts thinking that I was raped in my sleep. Shit, shit, shit…_

The door opened before Tin could continue to panic. The doctor walked in, charts in his hand, behind him was a medical droid or a 2-1B droid.

"Ah, you're awake," the doctor smiled, putting the chart down on a nearby table. "Ready to get up and about?"

"More than ready," Tin replied. "Um, doctor, may I ask who change the sheet yesterday?" he asked casually, pretending like he was talking about weather and stuffs, as he sat up and had to force the urge to wince as pain shot up his spine.

"Change the sheet?" The doctor raised his eyebrows. He looked confused. "What do you mean? Yesterday no one had visited you after Captain Coyote left."

"Oh, really… then it must be a dream, sorry doctor." Tin hoped that the doctor would buy this excuse. Luckily, he did and the clone was relieved.

 _Hey, but if no one had visited me…then how come I'm clean and…Oh, no, no, no, that's impossible. There's no way Lord Vader would do that!_ Tin bit the inner of his cheek to stop himself from picturing Lord Vader changing his clothes and the sheet. _It's impossible, he wouldn't…what if he did? No, no, I'm going to let this go. I'm not going to ask him, I'm not going to make a stupid decision again._

So, Tin decided to let it go and prepared to leave. He went back to his quarter to change his clothes and caught up with the rest of what happened during his absent.

 

 

Luke was still in his class when Tin arrived at the North Wing, so he made his way to the boy's room. There were several toys on the floor, but overall the room looked fine. Tin put the toys back and went to the kitchen to take care of Luke's lunch.

 

Tin went to wait for Luke to finish his lesson as usual. The boy walked out of the room with a small holopad, but he dropped it as soon as he saw Tin.

"Tin!"

Luke shouted and ran toward him. Tin kneeled down and smiled, he was about to ask how Luke was doing when the boy hugged him, burying his face on the crook of Tin's neck.

"I miss you." The boy murmured, small hands clutched his shirt. Tin felt warm spreading in his chest. He wasn't sure what he was experiencing, but the warmness made him feel good.

"I miss you too," Tin whispered back, smiling as he gently hugged Luke back. He wasn't sure if Lord Vader would allow this or not, but it seemed like a right thing to do.

"So," Tin said after Luke let go of his shirt. "What did I miss?"

The boy's face brightened up even more before he started talking about what had happened during the time Tin was in the infirmary.

"…father said that he will let me go to school as soon as I'm five years old," Luke said during their walk in the garden. The boy was almost jumping up and down as he spoke. "I'm so excited!"

"That's… great, young master." Tin was surprised. Luke was attacked just days ago, but then his father was letting his son go to school. That's mean they would be in a city, and that meant more chances for the scumbags who were fool enough to try kidnapping Luke.

 

"…and he will start my training next week too!" Luke continued with a bright smile on his face. "He said that it's time he started training me."

 _Training? Oh, the Force thing, of course._ Tin smiled, knowing what Luke meant. Half of him was proud, but the other half was scared. Of course, Tin wanted to see his young master go far, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to see Luke transform into his father. Luke was so young, so sweet, Tin had to admit that he hated to see the boy changed. The dull ache in his lower back reminded him of what happened last night and he had to force himself not to shiver. He couldn't picture Luke doing something his father had done.

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

**Six Galactic Months Later, planet Carida**

 

Months ago Tin barely believed it when Luke said that his father would let him go to school, but here they're on Carida, a planet famous of its Imperial academy. Also, just outside the planet's atmosphere was Valor space station, one of the busiest military space stations since the Clone War.

On Carida, the nature was preserved as there was no major factories built on Carida. Most transports and vehicles were shipped from other planets. It's one of the safest place in the Galactic Empire's space, a perfect place for young nobilities to grow up.

 _Lamathos_ was the name of the city Tin and Luke was in. It's located in a beautiful valley. This city was the third busiest city of Carida and housed many universities. Many nobilities and high ranked Imperial officers had built their summerhouses or their villas here since Lamathos was also famous of several lakes surrounding it.

Tin and Luke arrived at Lamathos a month ago, along with Luke's bodyguards. The house they would be staying was located on the outskirt of the city, on top of a hill and away from prying eyes. Luke was very excited because his bedroom would have a view of a vast green field and lakes that surrounded Lamathos. Luke would be spending the next seven years here, until he was ready to enroll in the Imperial Academy or if his father had other plan for him. Tin hoped that it would be the first, he was afraid of what Luke might become if he followed in his father's footsteps.

Lamathos was also a famous place for the students of Imperial Academy to visit during weekends since the Academy was somewhere between Lamathos and the second busiest city of Carida. Tin wasn't surprised to see so many young officers walking in the town during weekends, some were still in their uniforms.

 

"Novices," Captain Coyote chuckled as he watched two students of the Imperial Academy arguing with each other about their lessons. The Stormtrooper captain was in civilian clothes, so he wouldn't draw much attentions, accompanying Tin and Luke to a park; Luke very loved going to a park on Sunday morning.

"How long before they graduate?" Tin asked. He was educated on Kamino and there was only the school for clones, so he didn't know about the rest of the Imperial army.

"Within two or three years," Coyote replied. "Half of them would be arrogant and fool, tending to turn any campaign into a disaster before they will have a chance to actually begin. I hope most of them meet Lord Vader before having a chance to command a squad of Stormtroopers."

"Oh my, that will surely raise the number of those who 'die in the line of duty'," Tin chuckled, watching as Luke went to play with other kids at the park's playground. Some of the parents waved at them and Tin waved back, smiling. Well, let's say that the parents of Luke's friends had assumed that Tin was Luke's father. Oh, and some of them also thought that actually Luke had two fathers, Tin and Coyote. Or sometimes Tin and White, depending on who was accompanying Tin and Luke out that day.

"More like 'die in the line of stupidity'," Coyote suggested and Tin laughed, shaking his head. He saw White not so far away from them, pretending to be enjoying the fresh air while looking out for any dangers. Three or four of Luke's bodyguards were also in the park, walking in a giant loose circle around them.

"What do you want for lunch?" Tin asked, his eyes were still on Luke. "Young master wants Naboo's cabbage soup again, and you guys?"

"Seriously Tin, you spoil Lord Vader's son," Coyote chuckled. "Not in a bad way though, I feel like you're a mother spoiling her kid for being good."

"Shut up." Tin frowned, but on the inside he did agree with what Coyote said. Sometimes Tin felt like he was Luke's mother more than his babysitter.

"Carida's salad then," Coyote replied. "It's been a while since you made that."

"Alright," Tin nodded. "It's settled then." He then took note on his holopad of what to buy today. _Damn, when Coyote said it I did feel like I'm…Luke's parent._ He wasn't that…crazy…to use the word 'mother'. _Except that his real parent will visit this afternoon and I better make sure that I've the ingredient for whatever Lord Vader wants to eat. I'm lucky he isn't picky, though._

Lord Vader's diet was mysterious to Tin until he became Luke's babysitter and eventually the caretaker of the boy's meals, which also included the father sometimes. Lord Vader's guard had sent Tin his boss' diet the first day Tin had to prepare the meal for both Luke and his boss, almost two years ago on Darim. His boss had never required an exact dish, all the cooker had to do was to get the nutrients right.

On weekdays, Luke trained with a combat droid after school. The droid was carefully made by Lord Vader himself. On Saturday the boy also trained with the droid and on Sunday he was free. However, if Lord Vader visited, the schedule would be as their boss preferred.

Tin had barely went in to the training room. Lord Vader had assigned the duty of watching over Luke while the boy trained to Coyote, Tin's job was to take care of Luke and the house. Sometimes he also had to prepare bandages, just in case that Luke needed them after the training.

 

 

An Imperial shuttle landed on the back yard of the house that afternoon. Luke bolted out of the house to greet his father, Coyote and White running after him while Tin ordered the droid to quickly finish cleaning and moved out of the way. The door was opened and Lord Vader walked in, his son by his side, talking about his school and the training.

"My lord," Tin bowed as his boss walked passed. He waited until Luke and his father settled down at the living room that he got back to what he had been doing before.

Lord Vader hadn't used him for sex since Luke moved to Carida. Maybe it's because the tight schedule or the house was quite small compared to the citadel on Darim. Nevertheless, Tin decided to believe that it's because his boss didn't want his son to suspect of what happened.

A while after that, Lord Vader and Luke was on a speeder bike. Coyote and most of his men surrounded them as they drove off toward one of the lake surrounding Lamathos. Tin hoped that he wouldn't have to prepare a bandage when Luke got back.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

 

"Tin"

"Yes?"

"I will be going on a field trip tomorrow," Luke said as he picked up a fruit from the bowl on the counter. "They need you to sign the permission."

"I've already signed it, young master," Tin said, turning to watch Luke threw his bag onto the cough and flopped down on it with a holopad in his hand. The boy hummed his response before started working on his homework with one hand, the other hand bringing the fruit to his mouth.

"Thank you Tin," Luke said, voice muffled by the fruit. Tin sighed, and Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know I shouldn't talk while I've something in my mouth."

"I didn't say anything," Tin held up both his hand and shrugged. Luke glared at him before turning back to his homework, and Tin walked back to the kitchen.

 

Luke is twelve almost thirteen years old now. Years had passed since Luke first day at school. The boy had grown up to a smart, a bit cocky, and almost a teenager by now. He had grown from that little child, now Luke's height was around Tin's shoulder and kept getting taller and taller every day. The boy was stronger, both physically and mentally. White, whose compliment was as rare as a rain on a desert planet, had said one day that Luke would make a fine sharpshooter if he wished to be, and that the boy had a talent for it.

Lord Vader still visited his son once or twice a month. And during summer they would go back to Darim. Luke would train with his father when Lord Vader was there, or he would train alone in the garden or with the droids. The combat droids for Luke were now the sixth generation. The boy had developed his skill so quickly that they needed to be changed almost every year.

Tin hadn't seen much of Luke's training. It's Captain Coyote's job not his. He would only be called in if Luke was too injured to move, usually going in with a medic. Also, last year Lord Vader had allowed Luke to spar with his bodyguards. Tin was worried that the Stormtroopers might overdo it and Luke was just a boy. It turned out that Luke could handle himself well and even win some of the matches. Captain Coyote said to Tin one day that Luke would go far, and Tin had no doubt in it.

Tin's relationship with his boss was still the same, except that Lord Vader would use him only when they're on Darim. The only thing that changed was, since Luke's visit to Naboo, Tin had orgasmed almost every time his boss used him. Not as mind-blowing as that time, but enough to satisfy his need, making Tin collapse down on his bed as soon as he reached his room. But other than the sexual intercourse, nothing changed. Tin still gave his report every day. And if his boss was busy, Tin would write his report down for Lord Vader to read later.

 

"You should get change," Tin said, looking at the clock. "It's almost the time for your training."

"I don't want to," Luke pouted before he started talking about one of his best friends. "Ramie's father is an admiral but he doesn't have to train every day. He can go to an arcade after school. I want to go to the arcade with him."

"You're free on Sunday." Tin pointed out, still busy with choosing dinner's dishes as Luke crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, but my friends are with their families on Sunday."

"I can accompany you to the arcade if you want."

"It's not the same," Luke groaned, waving his hand and walked out. Tin sighed. Luke grew up every day and was about to experience the hormones and all those shitty things about teenagers. Tin didn't experience much of that as clones had a very strict training programme that was enough to drain all of their energy every day. Tin still remembered falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow almost every day, back when he was a teenager.

"You know," White said as he walked into the kitchen. Tin guessed that the Stormtrooper had been standing close to the door for a while and wait for Luke to go out first. "It's like watching a mother dealing to with a teenage son."

"Don't ever…" Tin rolled his eyes. "I'm not his mother."

"But he cared about you more than his own father," White said, and his words made Tin abruptly turned to the Stormtrooper.

"What did you just say?" he asked even that he didn't miss what White had said.

"I said, he loves you more than he loves his father." White replied, voice calm. "You haven't seen when he's sparring with a robot or with us much. The boy is full with colourful language he probably picked up from school. But he had never used one when you're near. Never."

This left Tin dumbfounded. "Really?" Tin asked, his voice quiet. "I mean; he's a boy. It's normal for him to curse, I guess. And I'm not his mother!"

"He's in his best behaviour when he's with you," White grinned.

"Oh Force, don't let Lord Vader know about this," Tin groaned, already imaging worst case scenario where Lord Vader walked in on them while White was talking about all of this. "He's going to kill us all if he knows."

"I doubt that," White said, turning to leave. "Kill me, sure. Kill you? Don't think so."

"What?"

"Nothing," and then the sharpshooter was gone, probably going to the basement to watch Luke. Since the boy turned ten, White and Coyote always worked together to train Luke.

Tin tried not to think about what White said. The 'you're like his mother' was a joke, or at least for Tin it's probably a joke that the squad had said too many until Tin was too tired to argue. No, he still argues sometimes though, but with no hope that he would win.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Summer approached and Luke's about to turn thirteen. As the boy went to school, Tin dragged Captain Coyote out with him to find a present for their young master. Lord Vader didn't say anything when Tin reported about his first gift to Luke when the boy turned eight, so he guessed that it's okay. And when the boy turned nine, Luke received not just a present from Tin, but also from Captain Coyote and the rest of his bodyguards.

"Do you think he will like this?" Tin asked as he picked up the books from the shelves. They're old, probably older than Tin, but Luke loved reading and book collecting. Tin had no idea why Luke enjoyed reading from something old and fragile, but he’s not going to ask Luke to stop since reading and collecting actual books weren’t bad for hobbies.

"He will," Coyote replied. "And I'm going to give him a new shelf since he has like…thousands of books right now?"

"It's just one hundred and sixty-three, Captain," Tin rolled his eyes. Coyote's expression softened before he looked around and urged Tin to go on. The clone frowned but didn't say anything. He had a feeling that Captain Coyote had something he wanted to tell Tin.

 

 

"What is it?"

"What?"

"When we're in town, you looked like you have something in mind," Tin said. They're on the road and on the way back to the house. They had several hours before White and Coyote had to go pick the boy up.

"I…" Coyote started and then shook his head. "…I don't know how to phrase this."

"Just try," Tin frowned. Now he was concerned. Captain Coyote rarely had a problem to speak what's in his mind, unless it's a serious stuff or something he didn't want someone to know.

"The boy starts to rebel," Captain Coyote said. "I guessed it's a hormone thing. Now it's just me and the men, but I can't image what will happen to him if he rebels against his father."

"Oh," Tin gasped. He understood what Coyote was trying to say. All of them loved the boy, maybe too much, and it's going to be hurtful to watch Luke got punished by Lord Vader. Knowing their boss, Tin knew that Lord Vader would never be kind. The dark lord of the Sith had started to train Luke harder or in the way of the Sith which wouldn't always be pleasant and enjoyable – Tin guessed.

"Well, I'm going to be optimist and say that he's not that foolish," Coyote shrugged and Tin agreed with him. However, Tin couldn't help but wondered if that scenario would happen someday. He shuddered and decided not to think about it. That's probably for the better.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Luke started to rebel after he turned fourteen. The first time it happened was the day after Lord Vader visited. They went out with Captain Coyote and his men. They came back with Luke, covered in bandages and already asleep. Lord Vader didn't say anything when he left, so Tin just let it passed. But the other day the boy just walked into the kitchen complaining about why his father had to put him through something horrible.

"I don't understand my father, Tin," the boy went on as he walked around the room. A bandage-covered hand balled into a fist. "The only way to rule is from the Dark side. I just don't understand him. Can't he see that there's people suffering from the civil war? Why the Empire spent so much money on weapons when there are people starving…"

Tin was surprised that day. He didn't know what to reply, and Luke just glared at him before walking away, saying that he's going to prepare for today's practice and he would go out for a walk after this. Seeing that Luke would have 2 hours after practice before his bed time, let Luke go.

The boy went back looking calmer than before. He didn't say anything and went straight to bed, so Tin settled down and wrote the report. However, this was the first time Tin left something out. He wrote about Luke going out for a walk but didn't write about Luke complaining into the report. Tin wasn't sure why he did that, maybe because he was afraid Lord Vader would punish his son and because Tin wasn't as afraid as when he had to report vocally to Lord Vader. His boss rarely had time for hologram call, nowadays he only read the report.

 

The next day was the same. Tin stormed of the training room, muttering something as he walked out, shouting that he would go for a walk. White walked out of the training room after the boy, he looked trouble.

"What happen?" Tin asked the Stormtrooper as the man readjusted his shirt. White sighed.

"That boy is having a tough ride with his hormones," White said, shaking his head. "I hope he won't behave like that when he's around his father."

And that made Tin decided that he had to talk to Luke about this. However, today he still didn't write about what happened to Lord Vader.

 

 

Weeks passed, Luke went out before going to bed every day. White and Coyote reported that the boy just walking around, sometimes just went to sit under the tree several meters away from the house. However, since Luke was calmer every time he got back, Tin didn't say anything. He didn't manage to talk to Luke yet. The boy was busy with his schedule and sometimes even sleepy after he got back from school, so Tin made sure that Luke ate and slept well. Luke still smiled at him and the others when he wasn't having a mood-swing though.

However, today Tin had a feeling that he needed to talk to Luke. Lord Vader was going to visit tomorrow, and Tin wanted to know what's going on.

"Tin, I'm going to go for…."

"Mind if I join you?" Tin said casually, knowing what Luke was going to say. The boy said this to him every time he was about to go for a walk. The boy was old enough that Captain Coyote and his men didn't have to follow him closely around. Well, they did follow Luke, but from a long distance.

"Of course not," Luke shook his head, smiling. But there's something behind his eyes. Tin had a feeling that Luke was hiding something from him.

They walked in silence. Luke leaded him through the grasses with hands clasped behind his back. Tin followed and tried to study the boy's expression. Luke seemed a lot calmer when he was outside.

The boy took him to the tree White reported Luke sitting under every time he went out. Tin sat down beside Luke and waited. He knew Luke would eventually say something.

"You know," Luke said, eyes looking forward. The boy was hesitated, but brushing his concern off and continued as soon as Tin turned to see why he didn't continue. "There are rumours that the Rebel is the right choice." Luke said and turned to look at Tin.

 _The Rebel?_ Tin frowned. _They're traitors, they cannot be trusted. Where did Luke get that idea?_ The clone decided to ask Luke directly. "Where did you hear that?" Tin's voice was smooth and neutral despite his concern, and Luke looked relieved that Tin's voice stayed his same neutral and comforting tone.

"In the town, when I went to the arcade. There're people talking about them. About the Rebels." Luke said. "Who are they Tin?"

"They're terrorists," Tin answered almost on autopilot. He wasn't even sure if this what's he really thought, or what he should answer Luke. He just knew that the Empire would want him to answer like this, Lord Vader would want him to give this answer. "They claimed they're fighting for the greater good or whatever. But what they do is hurting people."

"But the Empire isn't better," Luke said. He stopped walking and turn to face Tin. The clone had a feeling that Luke had kept this buried within his mind for a long time. "I mean; the media tries to ignore the situations of many planets under the Empire's care. The fact is; they're not doing well and the Empire does nothing to help. It's like the Empire just took what they wanted and left."

Luke sounds…angry? Tin frowned. He had heard Luke expressed his concerns about how the Empire treats other planets before, but not like this.

"Diralo, Amidora II, Rjnuh, you name it." The boy went on, now he sounded angry. "Small planets with no choice but to obey the Empire. I just…" Luke shook his head, waving his hands as he talked. "I just…I just don't know who I should talk about this. I…" the young man looked at Tin in the eyes and Tin saw something new in that pair of clear blue eyes. It's something mixed between anger, frustration, and sadness. "…I just can't tell my father that his beloved Empire isn't doing a good job taking good care of the people. All father cares about is the army and what the Emperor wants him to do, not the Galaxy. Not the people the Empire promised to protect."

The boy wiped the hair that fell down to his forehead up with a tired sigh. Tin wondered how long Luke had been keeping this to himself. In one hand he was worried because his boss wasn't going to like Luke's opinion about the Empire. But on the other hand, Tin was relieved that Luke decided to blow of some stream here, not doing it in front of Lord Vader.

"What do you think Tin?" Luke asked, voice became quiet as if he was afraid of what the clone might reply. "What do you think about the Empire?"

Tin took several seconds, almost a minute, to consider this. He knew what Luke said was true. Most planets under the Empire were suffering, only a few – such as Naboo – would be cherished. But he's just a clone, what could he said?

"Honestly, young master, I do not know," Tin replied, voice quiet but he meant every word he said. "I'm just a clone, bred to fight a war. I was programmed to take orders, not to question them."

Luke's expression then became something unreadable. The boy seemed to be considering something before he shrugged and started walking again. Tin followed him. None of them said anything until Luke finally turned back and started to head home.

As they're about to reach the house, Luke spoke up. His voice was soft and sincere. "Thank you for being honest with me Tin."

"Thank you, young master."

That night Tin didn't write about the walk he took with Luke nor what the boy told him. He had a feeling that it's the right thing to do; even that skipping these details might get him killed someday.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Luke had a fight with his father several week after he turned fifteen. Tin wasn't sure what happened. It started with Lord Vader visiting them, taking Luke out and Coyote's men followed them, just like usual. However, only Lord Vader and Coyote's squad came back to the house, there's no sign of Luke.

"Where is Master Luke?" Tin asked Coyote as soon as he didn't see Luke anywhere. Coyote sighed and motion for Tin to follow him. Tin risked a glance and saw that his boss was reading a report, before following Coyote out of the house.

"Young master and Lord Vader have a fight," Coyote whispered, keeping an eye out in case his boss decide to take a walk outside the house. "I'm not sure what happened, but they talked and then Luke was yelling about Lord Vader being…uncaring about the fate of some systems under the Empire. They fought, and I meant with lightsabers and the Force thing. Master Luke was injured, and Lord Vader ordered all of us to go back. He said that Master Luke had to go back to the house by himself."

"Oh," Tin gulped. He wouldn't dare question his boss for why he did that; he's not that stupid. "How…how far did you go?"

"It might took several hours until Master Luke would arrive." Coyote replied. "Don't worry, White patrols the perimeters tonight, he will let you know as soon as Young Master is back."

Tin nodded and they went back to the house. Lord Vader was talking to some admirals on a hologram as they entered, so Tin quickly went to the kitchen to make sure the droid was working as it should be.

 

"Tin. Lord Vader wants you at the library, now."

Ten minutes after Tin entered the kitchen, one of the troopers showed up with an order to bring Tin to the library. Tin nodded and quickly walked out of the kitchen.

 

Lord Vader was alone in the library, looking out of the window. Tin entered and stood still, waiting for an order as he listened to the sound of the door sliding shut. He hoped that Lord Vader didn't call him here to torture. Tin had a feeling that his boss might have found out what Tin had been hiding.

"You didn't report to me of what Luke's opinions about the Empire are."

It's not a question, not an accusation. It's a declaration that Tin's going to be punished. The clone gulped. He knew that this day would come, but he hadn't expected it to be this soon.

"I didn't," Tin replied, he knew better than trying to know the way out of this.

"You know you're going to be punish for this," his boss continued, turning to face him. "What is your reason?"

Tin took several seconds to gather his thought. He had thought about the reason of his action for a while now. "I was afraid that you will try to make Master Luke thinks the way you prefer as soon as you find out." Tin spoke, voice smooth and honest. "Master Luke is not like me; he's not bred to follow the orders. I want him to think for himself of what he wants to do, what he prefers, what he likes, and what he doesn't like."

Tin straightened his posture and waited for the punishment to come. He knew Lord Vader wasn't going to let him go for this, and he hoped that Captain Coyote and others would take good care of the boy if Lord Vader decided to kill him. Also, deeper in his mind, Tin hoped that Lord Vader would think about what his reason. Deep down, Tin wished that Lord Vader would agree with him that Luke shouldn't be ripped of his free-will.

"Sergeant, I am impressed."

Lord Vader spoke, and Tin had to restrain himself not to show his surprise. He had been expecting punishments, the Force-choke, lightsaber striking down, or anything. But not…not this, not to hear Lord Vader said that he was impressed.

"Again, you have proved your loyalty toward my son." His boss continued as he took a step forward. Tin knew better than to back away. "You will remain at his side until he no longer needs your assistance." Lord Vader said, now he's standing in front of Tin. "But do not think that your action will not have consequences."

"Thank you, my lord," Tin bowed, he's surprised, but the feeling that was overwhelming him now was gratefulness. He had never, he had never thought that his boss would allow him to live, and to continue taking care of Luke. Tin was so relieved that he didn't even care when his boss took his dry, in the middle of the library. He didn't even care when Lord Vader had Force-choked him during the time of the sexual intercourse. And he didn't care when he was left bleeding on the floor when it's over.

 

Tin was able to gather himself up before Coyote and his men came looking for him. Coyote saw him as Tin trying to get to his room as quick as he could to get change but said nothing, not even when he saw that there was blood on Tin's pants.

Lord Vader left during the night, and Tin stayed up the whole night to wait for Luke. He got everything ready as soon as White reported in that he saw Master Luke.

 

The boy didn't say anything as Tin got the medical droid to look at him. There were a lot of scratches on Luke's body. Nothing was fatal though, the boy would recover.

"Master Luke, I suggest a shower and a rest," Tin said as Luke didn't seem to be getting up from the chair he sat on while the Medical droid examined him. Luke just looked up and sighed. Tin raised his eyebrows. It looked like Luke wanted to say something.

"I'm sorry I've got you in trouble," Luke said, eyes looking at Tin's neck. The clone blushed slightly. Lord Vader had also grabbed his neck last night, choking him while he used Tin's body. "I…I'm so sorry."

"Please don't be, it's my job," Tin shook his head. "And I know that you're tired, young master. I suggest we talk later, after you've fully rested. Or do you want to eat something first?"

"Ngh, I'm good. I think I will go to bed now." Luke shook his head before he stood up. Tin just noticed that Luke was getting taller and taller every day. "Still, thank you." The boy said quickly and went out of the room.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

**Three galactic months later, planet Darim**

 

"Siiloo I?" Tin raised his eyebrows as he read the description. "It's an industrial planet."

"Exactly," Captain Coyote nodded. "It seems like the Queen of Siiloo I is being…difficult in many negotiations regarding the important businesses with the Empire. The Emperor wants Lord Vader to attend the planet royal celebration of their newst princess or some sort, to make sure they will be more cooperative next time."

"Celebration?" Tin shook his head. "I've never thought that Lord Vader would be interested in something like that. He's likely to literally crush their party and beheaded the queen if she's stupid enough to say anything."

"I agree," Coyote replied, shrugging. He didn't seem to care much about where they're going. "But he's taking Master Luke and us with him, so I guess that he has another plan in mind."

"Oh, great," Tin nodded, sighing before he waved Coyote goodbye for the day. They're back on Darim now, just arrived here yesterday. And now Coyote came to tell him that Lord Vader was going to visit the celebration on Siiloo I, and he would like Luke to go with him.

His boss and Luke was in the garden right now, sparring. Tin went to make sure that dinner was ready and went to prepare for the trip to Siiloo I. By the schedule Coyote gave him, they would leave for Siiloo I in 48 hours from now and would be staying there for seven galactic days, unless there're some complications or they could finish the mission quicker than that. Tin guessed that it's going to be the later.

 

 

Luke was excited to go to Siiloo I, Tin could tell. To be honest, Tin was surprised that Lord Vader wanted him to go to Siiloo I too, at first he thought he's going to be left at Darim while Lord Vader took his son to around to attend the business. His boss had started taking Luke with him when he around 18 galactic months ago. Coyote told Tin that mostly they stayed on a Star Destroyer, but sometimes Luke'd got to see his father in action when they hunted down Rebels or wanted criminals. Tin had a feeling that Luke started to disagree with the Empire's method after he had seen their…absoluteness (?).

Now they're on an Imperial shuttle heading toward Siiloo I. Lord Vader was in the pilot seat with Luke as his co-pilot. Tin wasn't sure what he should feel about that nor the original pilot, so they all sat quietly and ignored the fact that Lord Vader was actually teaching Luke how to fly the shuttle in battle; they strapped themselves to the chair as soon as Lord Vader told Luke to do several flips he had taught yesterday.

 

The queen of Siiloo I and her subjects were waiting for them at the platform. She's a tall human with lovely golden hair and cunning bright blue eyes. But despite the cunningness, her expression was serious. Her oldest daughter was there beside her, along with her son. Her daughter looked like her, serious but cunning, while the son seemed to be more playful and innocent. The tree of the royalists dressed in light purple clothes and colourful head adornment, so different from Lord Vader and Luke who dressed in black. Actually, Tin felt like their choice of clothes were a bit stood out when everything in this city was so colourful.

"Greeting. Lord Vader." The queen of Siiloo I bowed slightly at Lord Vader, her children did the same.

"Queen Erre," Lord Vader said. "It's wise of you not to decline the Emperor request."

"How could I?" Queen Erre chuckled. "Come, let us take you around before the meeting begins."

The group continued toward the palace with the dark lord of the Sith and the queen of Siiloo I leading the way. Two Stormtroopers were behind Lord Vader, after that it was Luke who bowed to the queen's children and smiled as the princess and prince of Siiloo I offered him their polite welcoming smiles.

Tin was in the back of the group. His job was to take care of their luggage. And after taking in the view of the city surrounding the palace while loading the bags out of the shuttle, Tin was impressed. Despite their incomes were mostly from the industries, Siiloo I still managed to keep the city area clean and welcoming.

 

While the queen of Siiloo I showed Lord Vader and Luke around, Tin and another Stormtrooper took care of the luggage. They made sure that each of the bag were transported safely to each quarters. Lord Vader and Luke would be sharing the quarter while Tin would stay with the rest of the Stormtroopers.

Tin didn't see them until the afternoon that Luke called him through the comm.

"Tin, let's go,"

"Young master?" Tin was surprised by Luke's excitement that was obvious in Luke's voice. "Go where? Did…"

"Meet me at the front gate of the palace. Quickly, father let me go explore the capital." Luke replied. "Hurry Tin, I've got a speeder. White is going with us too."

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Tin said and he quickly made his way to the front gate of the palace. Luke was already there with a landspeeder, probably borrowed. White was also there, sitting at the back with his guns ready.

"Let's go, we have three hours." Luke winked, jumping into the driver seat. "I'll drive." The boy announced happily, and Tin started to have a bad feeling about this. He turned to look at White and knew that the other trooper was having the same thought.

 

Sometimes Tin wondered if his boss was like Luke when he was a child. _Okay, Lord Vader is scary and unfriendly, but he must had gone through puberty, right? I wonder what he's like…_ Tin mused while trying his best to hold on. Luke was…speeding up…again. And Tin wondered if his boss in the past would drive as fast as this when he's a child.

"Lookout!" White almost screamed when Tin made an unnecessary flipped as they changed the channelled they're travelling on to the lower level. Tin grips on the side of the speeder tightened as Luke laughed and made another flipped, earning another silent curse from White.

"Chill, guys," Luke chuckled. "You're not going to be sick."

"Not yet, but probably soon," White groaned, earning another giggle from Luke. Tin shook his head, wondering what Lord Vader would do if he knew Luke almost made one of his own bodyguard vomit, and if Lord Vader had tried to make someone vomit by speeding and spinning the vehicles before.

However, despite the speed Luke was driving and the possibility of the boy ramming them into another vehicle or the building, Tin felt peaceful. It's like they're on vacation, just them, no need to worry about the politics, the Empire, anything. He looked at Luke and saw that the boy was beaming in happiness and wished that Luke would remain pure and happy for as long as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

 

Tin had to admit that he's uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable because he's in the same room with his boss who was very scary and able to kill everyone with a flick of his hand, Tin was uncomfortable because of the Siiloon, or the people of Siiloo I. They're very expressive and not afraid to show their interests in Tin, even when it's just the way their eyes lingered longer on him or them talking while looking directly at him – even pointing toward him sometimes.

_Maybe because I'm the only one without a mask on, people are always curious about what we look like. Damn, this is just 'small party', as the queen had said, to welcome Lord Vader and Master Luke. Kriff, this is just a 'small party' but I feel like she had invited the every nobles of this world._

Tin thought and ignored the urge to sigh. Stormtroopers, or Clonetroopers who still served the Empire, were always in their white armours with their faces concealed. However, Tin had been assigned with this grey uniform and he didn't want to ask his boss if he could just put his armour on; that question would probably get him kill. Besides, Luke didn't like the white armour. He said that it looked lifeless and that he preferred to see all his bodyguards' faces. That's why when they're on Carida and had no visitors, Luke's bodyguards were in their casual clothes.

Back to the present, Tin straightened his back and tried his best to stay still. His job was to watch over Luke while the boy socialized with Siiloo I's nobles. Tin noticed several familiar faces that he had memorized before going here. The faces of the most influent politicians of Siiloo I. Some of them were with the queen, but some did challenge her, saying that she's leading the planet into the wrong path.

On the other side of the room, observing the party from the terrace on the second floor, was queen Erre and Lord Vader. Tin knew that his boss had never preferred to attend party, but this was all about deception. If the nobles saw that the queen was honoured by the Emperor to have his second in command sitting beside her, it would be wise for them not to question her. The Empire might have treated the core worlds and the Middle Rim worlds fairly, but they're ruthless when it came to the Outer Rims and their rebellious actions.

Tin hoped that there would be no incident during their stay at Siiloo I. He had a feeling that the queen invited the Empire here because something's about to happen.

 

Tin had noted several Ladies who approached Lord Vader's son with charming smiles on their faces. Some were just friendly, but some were expecting for extras attentions. Tin couldn't really blame them for wanting Luke to be interested. The boy might not have any position in the Empire yet, but he's Lord Vader only son and would probably follow his father's footstep and became one of the most influent and powerful figure of the Empire. Also, right now just the word 'Lord Vader' alone screamed power.

Luke handled the people who greeted him all the same, warm smile and politeness, a bit playful sometimes if the people he talked to decide to make some jokes. Overall, Luke hadn't shown his interest in anyone yet and Tin was happy about that. In his opinion, Luke's still too young.

"Hello," then, as Tin was observing the party and mostly looking out for Luke, a woman approached him. Her hair was bright purple and she had a big tattoo on her right cheek, a symbol of a royal bodyguard of the palace. Her eyes were bright pink, large and beautiful, but unreadable.

Tin wasn't sure what he should do. His boss didn't instruct him about how he should behaviour to anyone that talked to him in the party. Maybe no one had expected that there would be people interested in talking to an Imperial trooper.

"Hi," so Tin decided to be polite and replied.

"I'm Rexanarr," the woman said, stepping close. "And you?" she spoke liked she was singing. Tin wasn't sure if it's the Siiloo I's accent or she intended it to be that way.

"CT-9331," Tin replied and waited. He wasn't sure what he should say more. She might be friendly, or she might be a spy. She could be both.

"You're not going to give me your real name?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. She's standing too close and Tin started to feel even more uncomfortable than he already was.

"That's what they call me," Tin said, keeping his voice emotionless but neutral. He reminded himself that they're the guests and he must behaviour.

"Alright," Rexanarr nodded. It seemed like she's not going to continue, but she didn't walk away and just stood there, watching the rest of the party. Tin knew that she's not the one in charge of the security of this place, he didn't see her in the list of the people he had to be aware of.

Rexanarr stayed silent for almost twenty minutes, and then she spoke up. "My mistress is trying to seduce your master."

Tin blinked. _Mistress? Well, there are three women trying to get Master Luke's attention away from one of the Siiloo I's senators he's talking to._ Tin thought, looking at each one and made a guess of who was Rexanarr's boss. He guessed that it must be the girl in pale yellow dress with golden hair. The mark on Rexanarr's cheek matched the golden symbol on the girl's dress; when attended a royal party, in Siiloo I's tradition every guess had to wear a dress with their families' symbols on them.

Rexanarr cleared her throat and Tin realized that she's still waiting for his response. Having no idea of what to reply, Tin kept his eyes on Luke and acted like he didn't hear her. In the end, Rexanarr huffed and crossed her arms in from of her chest.

"Did the academy teach you only to shoot?" she asked, more like trying to rile him up than asking out of curiosity and Tin ignored her.

 

 

 

 

The party ended shortly after that. Captain Coyote waited for both Luke and Tin patiently at the door. Lord Vader would be discussing some matters with Queen Erre and he wanted Luke to head to bed first. Luke looked happy enough, but Tin felt like the boy wanted to say something.

After they reached Luke's room, White and another Stormtrooper shuffled to their post in front of the room. Tin was about to say goodnight to the boy and go to the room assigned for him and other Stormtroopers when Luke grabbed his arm.

"I…I want to talk to you," Luke said, pulling Tin's arm. Tin raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything. Coyote murmured that he would be waiting outside and dismissed the other Stormtroopers who weren't on guarding duty tonight.

Tin followed Luke inside. The room was large and well-decorated. At first Tin thought that Luke was going to talk right after they're in the room, but no, the boy headed to the terrace and Tin followed silently. He wondered what Luke wanted to talk about.

Once they reached the terrace which showed them a view of the city below, stretching to all side and a blurred figure of the industrial area on the horizon. Luke put his arms on the rail and sighed, head bowed.

"I…" Luke started, now looking up and turned his head to look at Tin. "…I…the people there….they're…full with emotions and agendas." The boy gulped before continued. His voice was shaking, not from fear, but from the experiences. It took Tin several seconds to realize that Luke felt overwhelmed.

"I've attended parties and meetings….conferences…something like that before," The boy went on. "But it's not like this. Those officers of the Imperials have the plan of their own, but it's always about the Empire and their positions, sometimes their families and most of the time they tried to please my father or me but… but not like this. They've never tried to please me because they want… but… some of those young nobles… I don't know how to describe it."

"They've never tried to get you into… an intimate relationship." Tin spoke, he didn't need to be able to read mind to know some of the young nobles' intention.

"Yeah, yeah…" Luke nodded, sighing. "I've tried to be as polite as I could, I…I don't think my father would like it if I told them to leave me alone because they're making me felt uncomfortable, right?"

"You're correct," Tin nodded. Even that Lord Vader didn't seem to enjoy this type of mission much, they still had to behave. "I'm sure that he's proud of you, Master Luke. You did well today."

"Thanks…" Luke smiled, a wary one but it did reach his eyes. "…but…well…tomorrow and the day after that and also the day after I'll be going to meetings with my father and whichever lunch or dinner I've to attend." The boy sighed. "The meetings are okay, I'm looking forward to those…but those meals…I…I don't want to attend. I know I've to but it means I'll have to be 'sociable' to the people that aren't really interested in me. Most of them are interested in my position, what I can do, and what I might achieve in the future. That…" Luke shook his head. "It's just… Father had told me that these kinds of…interests are to be expected, but I've never thought that it would be… this much."

Tin nodded. He knew that this day would arrive, the day that Luke realized how complicated and ambitious people could be. Some were truly just friendly, but some would do everything to get things going in their favour. Tin felt sorry for Luke.

"People are complicated, some are good, and some are bad. That's the way the galaxy is. It's going to be boring if it has just one type of people. Political meetings are usually where all self-centred intentions are presented; at least to a Force-user likes Lord Vader and you." Tin spoke. He had prepared for this since Lord Vader started taking Luke with him on his mission. Tin knew that Luke would have met these kind of situation someday, and he had half-hoped that Luke might come to him for advices, or at least to blow off some steam if it made him felt uncomfortable. "They're people who truly wish you well and who prefer to just use you and cast you aside. You will get used to this after a while."

"Yes, father has said that before." Luke nodded. "It's just…at first I thought he was exaggerating, I thought he tried to scare me a little bit."

"Your father will not do such a thing," Tin said. Well, Lord Vader might love scarring people by the Force-choke or whatever, but he probably never wanted to scare Luke. Tin had been with them for almost thirteen years; Lord Vader might be strict or scary, but never once did his boss had tried to scare the boy. And if Lord Vader truly did intend to scare Luke sometimes, Tin had never seen it.

"I know," Luke nodded, sighing. "I just…it's hard Tin. I…I used to believe that most people weren't this… greedy, selfish, manipulative, and egotistical. I've never…now I understand why father warned me to be very cautious around them."

"He's right, you have to be very careful and always aware of what happens around you," Tin said. This advice he improvised from what he was taught when he's still a cadet. Tin guessed that it's the same, awareness helped keep troopers alive in the battlefields. These meetings were just another battlefields, only with different way of fighting and strategies. "Some you might want to pick as your allies though, they might benefit you as much as you benefit them. But do not ever let them lead you." He added.

"You don't have to lecture me about that, it made me feel like I was ten years old again." Luke mumbled, but his tone wasn't hostile. Tin knew from the years of spending time with Luke that the boy was just tired. Then, to Tin surprise, Luke turned and rested his head on Tin's shoulder - something Luke rarely did these days since he's no longer a child. Nevertheless, Tin knew him well enough that Luke only did this when he wanted encouragement or simply told Tin that he was too tired and just wanted to be spoiled, at least a little bit.

"Sorry then Master Luke, old habits die hard," Tin chuckled before looking at the clock. "It's quite late now, you should get some rest." He patted Luke's shoulder, and the boy sighed happily against his shoulder.

"Tomorrow I'm free in the evening," Luke murmured, still clinging to Tin as he slowly pulled away. "Let's go for a ride. I'm sure that father would allow it since last time you and White came back in one pieces."

"I think that we should bring Captain Coyote instead," Tin almost grinned. He still remembered White's voice when the Stormtrooper thought that they're going to crash. "We should let poor White has some rest."

"Okay," Luke nodded, finally letting go of Tin and yawned, stretching out like lazy cat. "I agree that I should get some rest. See you in the morning Tin."

"Good night, Master Luke." Tin bowed and walked out of the room. The boy was clearly more relaxed after he had told Tin what was in his mind, and the fact that Luke still trusted him made Tin smile all the way to the room assigned for him and other Stormtroopers.

 

 

"Tin, Lord Vader wants to see you,"

One of Luke's bodyguard said as Tin entered the room. Tin sighed, nodded and walked out. It seemed like the meeting had ended quicker than he thought.

He walked quickly to Lord Vader's quarter, nodding at his boss' guards on their shift. The guards at the door nodded at him and notified Lord Vader of his arrival.

The door opened and Tin walked in, straightened his back as the door slid shut behind. Lord Vader was at the balcony, standing with his hands on the rail. Tin walked toward his boss, stopped several meters behind him.

"Lord Vader…"

"Come here."

Tin blinked, but did as he was told. He walked until he was just one metre one the right behind his boss and waited.

"Report"

A simple order, Tin inhaled and straightened his back again and reported what he saw at the party to his boss. He also mentioned to Lord Vader about Rexanarr and her mistress. He was hesitated to report about what Luke just vented off, but knowing better than not to do so. Lastly, Tin told Lord Vader about Luke's idea of going for a ride tomorrow's evening.

 

"Hm, still a child I see," Lord Vader said after Tin finished his report. If Tin wasn't mistaken, he thought he heard Lord Vader chuckled. "And you spoil him."

Tin had no idea how to answer to that. Lord Vader had never, never ever commented about how he treat Luke before. He didn't even know if his boss was angry with him for spoiling Luke a bit, damn, he didn't even know if Luke was going to be punish by his father for his action.

"Sergeant, I would have kill you a long time ago if I am not approved of how you treat my son."

Lord Vader spoke up as if he knew what Tin was thinking. _No, he knows what I'm thinking_ , Tin mentally kicked himself. His cheeks heated up a bit from the embarrassment, so he stood still as Lord Vader turned back to face him. His expression unreadable as always.

Then, Lord Vader held his hands up and Tin was pushed against the wall by an invisible hand. His first reaction was to panic as he gasped for air. At first he thought Lord Vader was going to kill him, but he wasn't hurt, or at least the pain was just from slamming in to the wall. No Force-choked, no lightsaber activated, so he's going to live, at least for now.

Lord Vader moved his hands, and then Tin's pants were pulled down and off him in no time. Tin gasped, knowing what's going to happen and try to relax himself. Lord Vader stepped forward, but this time he didn't use the Force; he grabbed Tin's by his hands.

Without words, Lord Vader maneuvered Tin's legs to be around his waist, also locking Tin's ankles together. Tin wasn't too fool to not hold on when that's what Lord Vader obviously wanted him to do so. However, Tin wasn't know what to do with his hands. He had nothing to grab on, and he wasn't sure if Lord Vader would want to be touched without his permission, so Tin let them hanged beside himself. Tin almost yelped in surprised when something slick touched his entrance, and then his cheeks reddened when he realized that it's Lord Vader's finger.

 _Lord Vader is prepping me?!_ Tin was almost shocked. _He had…arg…his finger is still big…ngh….but he has never…he…he…_

And now Tin could barely form a coherent thought as Lord Vader started fingering him. It felt so good Tin almost cried. And then he realized that Lord Vader's other hand was holding him up by his ass. It's a bit embarrassed but Tin didn't care. After being used for years, this was one of the very few time that Lord Vader cared about how he was doing and also the first time Lord Vader decided to prep him.

Tin brought a hand up to cover his mouth as he almost screamed when Lord Vader touched something inside him. His cock jerked and Tin squeezed his legs by instinct, before he quickly relaxed them a bit after realizing that he's having his legs around Lord Vader's waist.

"My…my Lord?" Tin almost whimpered as another finger was added. He knew he should be quiet, and that he shouldn't push his luck, but he spoke up anyway. "Sir…I…I'm going to…please… I don't want to…" he cried out as the third finger was added. What Tin was trying to say was that he's afraid he would get his fluid on his boss' clothes, which would likely to happen since they're very close to each other.

"My Lord…" Tin tried again, but then he was choked. Not a choke that wished to kill, but a warning to be quiet. So Tin bit into the back of his hand and tried his best to behave. However, before he came, Lord Vader removed his fingers and pushed himself in. Tin tried his best to muffle his scream, not because he was in pain, but because it felt so good he almost cried. He had never felt anything like this before, with Lord Vader's prepping he felt as if he was ten time more sensitive. And with his passage relaxed and ready, this sex felt like heaven.

His orgasm was intense, and he had no idea how he was able to hold on until he came right before Lord Vader. Tin didn't even know if he left something on his boss' clothes as Lord Vader slowly pulled out. The movement told Tin to let his legs down. He almost stumbled forward when his boss stepped away, turning back to watch the city while Tin scrambled to get his pants on. His mind was swimming in half-consciousness, dazed by what just happened to him. It took him several seconds to be able to control his breath and to straighten his back up.

"Do research about the people who approached my son today," Lord Vader said. "Report your finding to me tomorrow before the afternoon meeting."

"As you wish, my Lord," Tin bowed, before quickly turned and walked out of the room. His cheeks still red and he's glad that the guards said nothing about how dishevelled he looked like now.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

While Luke attended the morning meeting with his father, Tin did some research about the nobles he saw yesterday. The ones who weren't in the list of the people he must know. He had told White and Coyote about the royal guard that came to speak to him, in case she was a spy.

It turned out that the Rexanarr worked for was Lady Ninre Eihbi, a daughter of one of the barons of Siiloo I. And after dug deeper, Tin found out that she's quite important. Her father might not be on the watch list, but her maternal aunt was currently on the list Tin was given.

Tin also did the research about the other ladies and lords who approached Luke yesterday. Half of them were related to the people on his watch list, the other half weren't. He gathered all the information he had and went straight to report to Lord Vader before the afternoon meeting start.

Lord Vader didn't say anything and Tin was dismissed quickly after his boss took the tablet from him.

 

 

Luke was very excited that evening. He announced to Tin and Captain Coyote that all three of them would eat outside tonight, and that he's the one buying. Luke also said that his father allowed him to be out until it's time to go to bed. Both Tin and Coyote were surprised, but they didn't say anything. Luke also forced Coyote to leave his uniform behind before they grabbed the speeders and headed out of the palace.

They stopped at some local restaurant. Coyote walked in first on instinct, checking the place before turning to nod to Luke and Tin. Luke rolled his eyes while Tin just chuckled and followed the boy in.

"This place looks comfy," Tin said as they were seated at a table on the balcony which was on the third floor of the building. The balcony gave them the view of the busy street below, along with the view of other buildings surrounded them. They were also able to see the palace from here. Tin had to admit that despite the vibrant colours of the city, this place was quite beautiful at night.

"I hope we could go out like this sometimes," Luke said; his words made both Coyote and Tin turned toward him. "On Carida, we barely have time to have dinner together." The boy added.

"Master Luke," Captain Coyote seemed to be confused. "Our duty is to protect you, I…"

"I know Coyote, I know, you're the head of my bodyguards, I remember," Luke rolled his eyes, but there was a smile on his eyes. "But I saw you two and others as friends. Come on, you cannot deny that."

"But…" Coyote tried to argue. Luke cut him off.

"You even taught me Mandalorian, especially when I asked about the rude words…" Luke tried to finish the sentence, but Tin cut him off.

"Wait," Tin snapped his head toward Coyote who was trying to pretend that he knew nothing about this. "You taught him those words?"

"Come on, it's not going to kill him," Coyote mumbled. "Besides, he's also our boss…why shouldn't I do as he ask…"

"Coyote," Tin glared. "That's not going to work."

"Calm down Tin! It's not that bad," Luke said, trying to pull Tin's attention away from Coyote, and it worked as now Tin turned to him. "Really, I was just curious. You know I'm not going to use those words to anyone except the sparing droid. I promise, I'm not going to get any of you into any troubles."

Tin rolled his eyes but he let it slid. _Well, how could he not?_

 

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

The rest of their stay on Siiloo I went without any incident. Tin was mostly free nearly all day, so he spent his day walking around while waited for Luke. The boy didn't talk about the people around him or what he felt from them anymore, but he did ask Tin to go out for dinner with him nearly every day. Tin guessed that it's Luke's way to relieve stress, so he didn't decline the offer. One or two of Luke's guards always went with them, mostly Coyote and White.

Tin reported to Lord Vader every day after he came back from the trip with Luke. Nothing happened thought, yet Tin couldn't forget what had happened days before, that he and Lord Vader…on the balcony…that Lord Vader prepped him. However, Tin wasn't that foolish to just ask his boss about it.

 

 

 

 

"I didn't want to go to the party," Luke mumbled as he looked himself up and down in the mirror. "It's boring and there're too many people."

"This is a royal celebration, Master Luke," Tin replied softly, looking Luke up and down to make sure that the boy was ready for the celebration tonight. "This is the Princess of Siiloo I's birthday."

"I know," Luke's shoulders dropped. "She's okay, but I…I hate to feel how the people want my attention for themselves and their own benefits. How can father survive this…this sea of craziness?"

Tin was glad that Luke didn't use any rude words he learnt from his bodyguards, even that it's obvious Luke was about to use one but stopped himself in time. "Well…I believe that's not the answer I can…"

"I'll have to ask my father, I know that," Luke cut him off, almost chuckling as he spoke.

Tin smiled, happy that the boy had relaxed a bit. "We better get going, your father expects you to be at the hall within ten minutes."

"Let's go then," Luke nodded, turning to leave the room with Tin followed closely behind him.

 

 

The celebration was, in Tin's opinion, overwhelming. The palace was decorated with even more vibrant colours, and the guests were in even more colourful dresses that made the Imperial troopers, Luke, and Lord Vader very standing out in the crowd – including Tin.

As the celebration progressed, the more uncomfortable Tin became. He didn't have a mask like the rest of the troopers, and his standard grey uniform made him very stood out, even among the Imperial troopers. Many had turned to look at him, some even quickly called their friends and pointed at him, probably about his look. Tin tried his best to pretend that nothing happened and keep his expression neutral.

Luke was in the middle of the hall, dancing with the third Lady that came to him. Tin was half torn between wanting Luke to have a good time and begging that someone please be stupid enough to ask Lord Vader for a dance. Tin was sure that if someone committed such suicidal thought, this celebration would end a lot quicker.

Tin spotted Rexanarr somewhere in the hall, wearing a bright purple dress. She turned and saw him, before giving him a wink and turned to continue watching over her mistress. Tin, who didn't know what to do, decided to forget about it.

 

The celebration went on and Tin was glad that it would be over in an hour. He's tired of standing still and watched those people talking about nothing and nothing – to just sure they looked good in public, that they had never fought each other numerous time already.

And then, Tin felt as if something was wrong. Everything looked secured, but one had never been careful enough. Tin scanned the room, noting that Rexanarr had left, but her mistress was still here.

Then, as Tin was about to tell Captain Coyote to check the area again, the middle of the ceiling exploded.

"What in the…"

Tin shouted in surprise before dodging out of the way as the debris fell down. The guests screamed. Everything went into chaos. Some people weren't able to get away and were buried alive. And the rested who survived fought each other to get to the door first.

Tin tried to find Luke in the sea of people who were trying to escape the area, and was relieved that Luke wasn't buried along with some of the guests. He's safe with no scratches, as far as Tin could see. Two of the bodyguards who stationed on the other side of the room were with Luke now.

"Master Luke, are you alright?" Tin asked through the comm, looking for the boy and relieved when he finally found Luke.

"I'm alright Tin, you don't have to worry," the boy replied, eyes still looked at him from the opposite of the hall. In the corner of his eyes, Tin saw Lord Vader stepped out of the balcony on the second floor.

However, before Tin could do anything, Luke screamed through the comm. "Tin! Get out!"

 _Get out?_ Tin was puzzled, and then the wall behind him exploded, sending Tin and the Stormtroopers beside him flying toward the middle of the room. Tin shouted as pain erupted through him. Beside him, Coyote groaned and tried to get up. A sound of gunfire broke out, but Tin was too dazed to make any detail out of the chaos around him.

"Tin! Tin are you alright?" Luke screamed through the comm. Tin bit his lips as he brought the comm to his mouth; every movement hurt liked hell.

"I'm okay master Luke," Tin tried his best to answer liked his back didn't hurt at all. He muffled the groan as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position. "I'm with Coyote. You have to get out of…"

"I won't run, Tin. Stay where you are, we're going to get you out of there..."

"No!" Tin almost shouted at the boy. "You have to get out of here. Leave me, I don't worth…"

"You worth saving Tin, damnit!..." the comm was cut before Luke could finish what he wanted to say – or yell at the comm. Now Tin was panicked. Luke wasn't supposed to save him. If anything happened to the boy, Tin would never forgive himself, and would be more than willing to let Lord Vader tortured him to death for his mistake.

"Tin, can you walk?" Coyote's voice pulled in from his train of thoughts. The Stormtrooper was in a sitting position now. "We're going to be sitting ducks here if we don't move."

"I think I can," Tin nodded, groaning as his muscles screamed when he tried to stand up. Coyote almost dragged him up and then pushed him toward the nearest covered, covering and protecting Tin with his body. Another Stormtrooper joined them, covering them as they retreated.

Tin cursed that the hall was so large. He pulled out his blaster form its holder, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and fired back to the intruders. They dressed like the palace guards, maybe this was their disguise or maybe this was a coup, something that Queen Erre had been paranoid by the idea of it enough to call the Empire. And now it was happening.

As they shot, Tin finally noticed a familiar figure in the chaos of dusts from the explosions and the laser blasting at each side. His boss, Darth Vader, with his lightsaber activated, were dancing between them, directing the fires back at those traitors and slaughtered them one by one. Now Tin felt like he could breathe, until he heard a crack.

"What…"

"Tin!"

Luke screamed through the comm. Tin saw the boy running toward them from the corner of his eyes, blue lightsaber in his hand.

A blue lightsaber? Tin thought, interested since he had never seen Luke used a lightsaber before. However, as he was about to shout for Luke to take cover and that they're doing fine, the floor underneath him cracked and gave out. Tin shouted something colourful as he, Coyote, and the other Stormtrooper fell backward into the large hole that suddenly appeared. Then his head knocked against something hard and Tin's world went black.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC.

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

 

"Tin… Tin!"

"Tin…oh no…Tin…please wakes up….please…"

Tin woke up to a sound of Luke calling him. He cracked his eyes opened and had to close them quickly as pain erupted through his body. He groaned and then a pair of hands was on his shoulders.

"Tin… oh…Tin…thank Force…Tin!..."

"Master Luke?" Tin groaned, forcing his eyes opened for the second time. This time he succeeded and the first thing he saw was Luke's worried face. The boy hovered over him, with some Stormtroopers surrounded them.

"Hold on, we will get you out of here," Luke said, before he pulled away and drew out that blue lightsaber, deflecting the shots that were aimed for them. Tin tried to sit up and tell Luke that the boy must get away from here, but the pain made him cried out instead.

Luke immediately turned toward him after he heard Tin's cry, and that made one lucky shot found its way to the boy's arm when he wasn't looking. Tin's stomach dropped when he heard Luke's cried as he stumbled to the side, one hand grabbing the injured arm, grunting as he turned to deflect other shots.

Tin opened his mouth to shout for other to take Luke to safety, but then the medic was in front of him. "Hold on mate," their team medic said, before turning to other Stormtroopers. "We've to get them out of here now!" His voice told that this was a life and dead situation. Tin wondered if his condition was that severe, but then he remembered that there were also Coyote and other Stormtrooper that fell down with him.

"I will cover you!" Luke shouted, standing in front of Tin as he deflected shot after shot; his injured arm forgotten or ignored. Tin tried to tell the boy that Luke must not do this, but then the pain blinded him when he was moved to a carried position on one of the Stormtroopers' shoulders. It took Tin several seconds to recover. In the corner of his eyes, he saw other two Stormtroopers carried Captain Coyote and the other Stormtrooper in the same manner. He also saw White among the Stormtroopers that covered their escape. The sharpshooter stood beside Luke, ready to sacrifice himself if necessary.

His vision started to fade as Luke and others retreated after them.

"There're all over the place!" One of the Stormtrooper shouted after they entered a hallway and had to duck to immediately get to covers. Tin was placed down behind a large statute, right beside Luke.

"Master Luke…" he tried to speak, but Luke cut him off.

"Keep that for later," Luke said, "I'm not going to leave you here and I'm capable of taking care of myself. I promise I will listen to your lecture after this." And then the boy sprang out of the cover, directing the enemies' attention at him. That distraction worked immediately as White and his men able to take care of half of their foes when Luke distracted them. And then the boy leaped forward to another cover, nearer to their enemies.

Tin's vision started to swim as he watch Luke and his guards fought their way closer and closer to where the enemies were taking cover. Besides him the medic was trying to stabilize Coyote; Tin heard that they're going to lose the Stormtrooper Captain soon if they're still stuck here.

Tin tried to ask the medic how badly Coyote was injured, but then there was an explosion that sent him flying out of the cover, right to the middle of the hall. Pain erupted and all Tin could do was gaping, trying to hold on to his conscious and now he heard nothing and saw only whiteness before blackness took over.

Tin swam in and out of conscious. He heard shouts, Luke's voice and White's voice, then he heard a sound of lightsaber crashing against something – or someone. He heard cries, and then nothing.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tin woke up to find himself in an infirmary. This time he was strapped to even more IVs and was in a bacta tank. There was a medical droid in the corner of the room, monitoring his recovering. Tin blinked and then he heard a beep. Slowly, he was lifted up from the tank.

 

It took an hour for the medical droid to check him up before letting Tin dressed in a patient clothes and sent him straight to recover by sleeping. It turned out that the explosions had burnt his back and shoulders, fractured his arms and gave him numerous bruises. The droid said that Tin was lucky that he didn't have internal bleeding.

Tin asked about other Stormtroopers. He was relieved that Coyote was still alive, even that the Stormtrooper captain would have to retire after this. The damages done to his body was beyond repair, and White was unofficially confirmed to lead the team after Coyote's departure. However, the droid couldn't answer him about how Luke was doing. It appeared that the information was 'classified'.

 

 

Tin slept for two galactic days. And on the third day that he woke up, White was in his room. The Stormtrooper had his helmet off and was staring out of the window. Tin turned his head and realized that they're back on Darim.

"White," he called, and White immediately turned toward him.

"Tin," the Stormtrooper got up from the chair and walked to Tin's side. "How are you feeling?" he asked, ready to reach for a bottle on a nightstand.

"I'm good," Tin replied. "How is Master Luke?"

"He's fine," White replied, even that his expression betrayed his words. Tin frowned. White was hard to read, but after working with him for ten years, Tin started to pick up a thing or two.

"Don't lie to me," he said, pulling himself into a sitting position. "What happened? Was he injured?"

"Not by those traitors on Siiloo I," White replied, the Stormtrooper looked troubled. "He got just scratches from that fight. We wiped those traitors who tried to take over Siiloo I quickly, but Lord Vader was…very angry with Master Luke."

"Why?" Tin asked, his stomach dropped. "What happened? Tell me everything, please."

"The blue lightsaber," White said. "It's…it's belonged to a Jedi. It belonged to one of those traitors of the Republic before it became a galactic empire. We thought that they're all wiped out, but it turned out that some were still alive. And one of them…one of them had come in contact with Master Luke and gave him that lightsaber."

"Did… Lord Vader…hurt Master Luke?" Tin asked, his voice hollow.

"Yes" White nodded. "After the fight on Siiloo I was over, Lord Vader and Master Luke came back to the Star Destroyer. Then, Lord Vader took Master Luke to one empty room, telling me and some of Luke's guards who could still stand to watch the entrance."

Tin hoped that it wasn't what he thought, but it seemed like his wish wouldn't be granted as White continued. "I'm not sure what happened, but Master Luke came out with fractured bones. He was sent to the infirmary after that. Lord Vader walked out…and he…he turned to tell us to look out for 'Ben Kenobi'." White gulped, now the Stormtrooper looked scared. And this was the first time White saw such expression on White's face. "It turned out that Master Luke had been in contact with this man for years. They first met when Master Luke was fourteen, and that's two years ago."

"There is no way someone could just…walk pass us and give him that blue blade. Unless…" then something clicked in his head, and Tin continued. "…when Master Luke stormed out of the house, the first time he went for a walk to calm his head," He turned to look at White, asking for a confirmation.

White nodded, confirming Tin's theory. "Master Luke admitted that he had been in contact with this man for a while now, and he knew that this man is a Jedi. Also, Master Luke let this criminal taught him about the way of the Jedi, and he was the one who gave Master Luke that blue lightsaber."

 _No doubt why Lord Vader was angry._ Tin gulped. Shock was followed by confusion, anger, and disappointment. _A Jedi! Did Master Luke have lost his mind?!_

"Where is Master Luke now? Is he in an infirmary?" Tin asked, voice almost louder than a whisper. In his mind, Tin was trying to come to term with the fact that the boy he loved and cared had decided to betray the empire. _Or maybe Luke was tricked?_ One voice in his head said. _He's so young, still an easy prey for those cunning scums. Kriff, I should have taken better care of him. It's my fault too that he met that sly. If I hadn't let him go alone…_

"He's still in a bacta tank," White replied, his voice pulled Tin back to the present. "Only Lord Vader, some medical droid, and us, who knew about what truly happened to Master Luke. The rest thought that those…injuries were from the battle on Siiloo I."

"Oh," Tin nodded. But he didn't feel better from that knowledge. Learning the Jedi way equalled betraying the Galactic Empire. He was sure that his boss wouldn't let it ended with just fractured bones. "What…" he hated to use this words, but he didn't know which to use now. "…right now what's our order?"

"Nothing," White replied. "Only that we resumed our routine as soon as we have recovered. Lord Vader is still busy with wiping out all of the traitors on Siiloo I. He will give the order after he comes back."

Tin nodded. He knew what the hidden word in the last sentence was. 'Punishment'. There would always be consequences, and Tin would have been dreaming if Lord Vader would let this huge mistake slid.

Silence grew between them. White went back to his seat and just sat there. The air felt heavy and crushing. Tin knew that both of them dreaded what to come after Lord Vader got back from Siiloo I. However, Tin was even more dreadful of what might happened to Luke. Knowing his boss, just several broken bones wouldn't be enough.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Tin stayed in the infirmary for several days. On his last day there, Luke woke up. Despite following doctor's order, the boy dragged himself up from his bed and found his way to Tin. Or, to be exact, Tin woke up to find Luke napping in a chair next to his bed.

"Master Luke?!" Tin almost shouted in surprised as he sprang up to a sitting position. He looked the boy up and down. Overall, Luke seemed to be okay, except for bandages covered the boy's every limbs.

"Tin?" Luke sleepily murmured before the boy's eyes shot opened. He immediately turned toward Tin. "Tin! You're awake!"

"Master Luke, how long have you been here?" Tin asked. "When did you get out of the bacta tank? I thought it would be the day after tomorrow."

"I woke up early." Luke shrugged. "The doctors decided that, since I'm conscious, it's better for me to recover outside the tank."

"That's good," Tin smiled, but then he remembered what Lord Vader had done to look and the smile faltered. Tin had no idea what Luke was going to do after this. He was sure that Luke knew his punishment wouldn't stop with just broken bones, and he was worried of what Luke was going to do next. The boy was in a rebellious age, and Tin had a feeling that Luke would surely rebelled against his father. The boy had kept his meetings with Ben Kenobi a secret for two years, who knew what more secrets Luke might be keeping.

"Master Luke…" Tin started, deciding to try coaxing what Luke kept with him out, but Luke cut him off.

"Tin, I know what you're trying to do, but it's not going to work," Luke said. His voice was normal but Tin sensed that something was off. He looked into Luke's eyes and saw hesitation, sadness, and sorrow.

"Master Luke…please…" Tin said, trying to be calm. He didn't want to shout at Luke of how disappointed he was about Luke's choice. Tin had never thought before that he was capable of being angry with Luke, but now he's both angry and disappointed.

"No, you don't understand." Luke shook his head. "My father was lying. The Force told me of the sickness and the suffering the galaxy has to endure. The Galactic Empire brought fear and terror, not peace, not happiness." Luke sighed, he looked like he was about to cried. It has been years since Tin had seen this expression from Luke. "I'm sorry Tin, but even you or my father would never be able to change my thought about this."

"Master Luke, he might trick you. That man might trick you into turning against your father. He's a criminal, he couldn't be trusted." Tin suddenly felt so tired that he wasn't sure what to do next. He wanted to shout at Luke, telling him of how disappointed he was at Luke's choice. But Tin saw something in Luke's eyes and understood that the boy needed him to listen.

"Tin, please…" Luke shook his head. "I can't…not after I've seen what my father had done. This is cruelty, not peace. And you know, I think you know even more than me of how the Empire treats most of its members."

"Master Luke, you might have misunderstood…" Tin tried to convince the boy. He knew very well of what the Empire was capable of, but he still didn't want Luke to turn against his own father. "The Empire does what must be done. Nothing more than that."

"That's because you're a soldier!" Luke groaned, covering his eyes with his hands, massaging his temples. "You're… I'm sorry to say this… but you're taught to follow orders. You don't question it, so you didn't see what the Empire truly did to most of those under its command. My father…he's the worst of all! He…"

"Master Luke!" Tin almost shouted as he grabbed Luke's hands. "Do not talk about your father like that." Tin said. "Your father isn't…"

"Don't lie to me!" Luke pushed Tin away. The expression on the boy's face told Tin that Luke wasn't buying any of this at all. "I know what he's capable of. I know what he has done! My father…Darth Vader or whatever, he's not a good man."

"Young master," Tin, who was still shock from Luke's rejection, still trying to reach for the boy even when pain exploded in his chest. He wasn't sure what this pain was, only knew that it's not a physical pain. "Please, you cannot let one action judging Lord Vader of who he is…"

"Why you still defend him, acting like he does no wrong?!" Luke cut him off, the boy was almost fuming right now. His voice was hard and full with anger. "He hurt you! I know you try to pretend that nothing happened but I know what happened! Every time he calls you to have a 'private talk', he hurts you. You're in pain, Tin, you're in pain even that you don't notice it. I don't understand why…why you protect him when he treats you likes that?!"

"I…"

"Don't…" Luke held his hand up. "Don't lie to me. It's an order isn't it? Is that why you still defend him until now? Even that he…he rapes you…" Luke looked like he wanted to murderer someone. "Why Tin? Just…why?"

Tin opened his mouth but nothing came out. He had no idea how Luke figured this out, how Luke knew about this. "When...How?" Tin asked, voice shaking. He didn't know what to do.

Luke looked at him, and now Tin understood what was in the boy's eyes. Luke loved him, and it hurt the boy to learn that his father had been raping his closet friend for years.

"I know that he hurt you since I learn about the Force, since I can use it." Luke replied. "It…I feel your pain Tin, not all of them but I still notice when you're hurt, especially by my father. Ben explained to me that it's very natural for Force-user to be more aware of their close friends and families more than other people." The boy moved closer now, and putting one hand on the bed. "I didn't know until last year, when he…called you to the library, that it's a rape. That day father dumped me somewhere far away from the house and ordered me to walk back on my own." Luke was hesitated to continued, but he did anyway. "On my way back…suddenly your pain exploded like fireworks, and I…I kind of heard your voice…your inner one…then I know what really happened."

Tin had no idea of what to say. Now he knew why Luke was so angry. Half of him was touched that the boy cared deeply about him, but the other half was terrified of what might happen to Luke. Tin had absolutely no idea of how Lord Vader would react to Luke's discovery.

"You still haven't answered me," Luke said after Tin didn't respond to him for a while. Concern was in Luke's eyes, mixed with trepidation and anger. "Why? Why Tin? Why you let him treat you like that?"

"I don't think I've an answer for that," Tin replied, his voice sounded so strange to his own ears. But what he said was half true. "I'm sorry," he added, and knew from Luke's face that his answer didn't satisfy the boy, not one bit.

"When I was a kid, you used to say that you didn't have the answer to any of my question," Luke said, his voice was now cold and sad. Tin felt like he was stabbed by an icy knife, just from Luke's voice turning this cold. Luke had never used this voice with him before. He felt like crying as Luke continued. "Now you still say that. Do you really want me to ask my father of why he treats you like _this_?! Really, Tin? Why?!"

"Luke…"

"No! Don't try to convince me or calm me down. Tell. Me. The. Truth." Luke almost growled at him and that's the last straw. Tin couldn't take it anymore, being torn between wanting to be honest with Luke and doing what he should be doing. He didn't want Luke to have a conflict with his father, but at the same time he was too tired for this, too tired of hiding.

"Because I don't have a choice." Tin said, his voice broke and shook as he carried on with tears slowly falling from the corners of his eyes. "I'm a clone, I was bred to follow orders. That's my purpose of existence, at least by the description about me." It sounded cruel, but Tin had years to come to term with this truth. He's just a pawn, and easy to be removed when the time came.

Luke was silent after Tin's short outburst. The boy sat still as Tin tried his best to wipe the tear away from his chest. _I should be more controlled of myself_ ; one voice in his head grumbled. _That's not what Luke supposed to know, at least not from me. I don't have a right to choose my own fate since I was born, no need to worry Luke about that…_

"I'm sorry," Luke's voice pulled him out of his train of thoughts as the boy moved closer. Tin looked up and then Luke's arms were pulling him close, hugging him. "I'm so sorry Tin."

Tin wasn't sure what that apologize was for, but he hugged the boy back as Luke nuzzled his face against his shoulder like what he used to do when he's a kid. "Apology accepted." He said, holding Luke close. Tin hoped that Luke was going to be okay. He had a feeling that reporting this incident to Lord Vader was going to be complicated – if Lord Vader still let him live after what had happened…of course, but he would worry about that later.

 

No one said anything for a while before Luke slowly pulled away. But Luke seemed to be hesitate to letting go. He looked at Tin and the clone still saw sadness in that beautiful pair of blue eyes. Luke looked like someone who just made a decision, a very hard one.

"You should get some rest," Tin said, even that he wanted the boy to stay and told him what was going on in his head. Right now Tin felt lost. He used to think that he was able to keep secrets from Luke, but with the boy knowing everything that happened he had no idea how to act around Luke. He felt so empty, and there was also a mixed of feelings that Tin couldn't identify yet.

"Yeah," Luke nodded, finally letting go. "Goodnight Tin." And then the boy was up on his feet and walked out of the room, leaving Tin alone with his thoughts.

 

With nothing better to do, Tin exploded his feelings. Sadness was the one that was easy to identify, followed by fear – fear of what's going to happen to Luke. Tin wasn't surprised that he was no longer suffered by trepidation when it came to punishment from Lord Vader; he knew there was always punishment, so he better not worried himself about it until the time came.

After the fear was a feeling that Tin spent some times to identify. It's shame. It's a rare feeling that Tin wouldn't normally felt. Well, with his daily life it's hard to be ashamed, unless it's after Lord Vader had used him. Tin still felt the shame every time he met others right after the punishment ended, especially if he had to meet Luke right after it – which rarely happened.

The next feeling was anger, which faded away quickly after Tin reminded himself of Luke's discovery, replaced by shame and sadness.

Tin spent hours just sitting on the bed, wondering about what would happen next. He knew he should get some sleep, but every time he closed his eyes his worse fear resurfaced from the deep of his mind. The fear that Lord Vader would kill Luke, or tortured him until the boy lose his spirit. Tin would willingly give his life if by doing that could prevent his fear from happening.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The doctor released him in the morning. White was there to welcome him back to the daily life. He asked if Tin wanted to see Coyote before the former Stormtrooper captain departure from Darim. Tin said yes and they both made their way to the hanger in silence.

The rest of Luke's bodyguards were also there. They said goodbye to Coyote, who was going back to his hometown. It turned out that Coyote had a brother who now had a family, and he's going back to live with them.

"Take care of yourself, you all," Coyote said, looking at each of them in the eyes from the wheelchair. This was one of the rarest moment where all of the Stormtroopers in the team had their helmets off. Coyote wasn't a man of many words when it came to feelings. Tin thought that the former Stormtrooper captain as trying his best to hold back the tears.

 _This is it_ , Tin thought, sadness was shown in his eyes and everyone who in their little circle with Coyote in the middle of it. _This is the last time we're going to see him._

They wished their former leader luck, a goodbye, and then watched his shuttle made it way out of the hanger.

 

As the group dissolved, White had come to walk side by side with Tin back into the hallway. The new Stormtrooper captain seemed to have something in mind.

"The first rule stated that Coyote had to be euthanized after retiring from his position," White whispered when they're alone in a hallway that leaded to the middle of the citadel. "He knew too much about Luke, it's understandable that he must be disposed of carefully after he was unable to perform his duty. One of the admirals who know about Luke stated this yesterday."

Tin's stomach dropped. He knew about this, because he's going to have a same fate as Coyote after his retirement. However, White kept going.

"Lord Vader just cut him off, saying that they didn't have to worry and that he would take care of Coyote himself." White said, now they're approaching the med bay. "I thought that he would kill Coyote himself, but when we left the command centre, he ordered me to prepare a shuttle for Coyote. Lord Vader would let him retire normally like other Stormtroopers."

"Do you know why he did that?" Tin asked, heart hammering in his chest. Lord Vader and kindness weren't to be mixed together in any circumstance, but there was a rare moment when their boss showed that he was capable of showing mercy.

"I'm not that stupid to ask him about it," was the reply, and Tin almost smiled because he knew too well about pushing his luck by questions that mustn't be asked.

 

 

Tin spent the day cleaning his room before he went to visit Luke. The boy was recovering in an amazing pace and Tin was very glad. He still avoided looking Luke in the eyes though, still ashamed of what Luke had found out.

After visiting Luke, Tin spent his time in the command centre, running errands for some admirals or higher ranked Stormtrooper while wait for an update of the battle of Siiloo I.

 

At the end of the day, the update came. The blitz had been a success, the Imperial had taken back most of Siiloo I now. There were only three districts they had to win before Siiloo I was fully back under the Imperial's control. Darth Vader would be leading the attack until they had succeeded taken Siiloo I back from the traitorous nobilities.

"Lord Vader had scheduled to visit Darim after Siiloo I is back under the Empire."

"Strange, normally he seems to prefer staying on the Star Destroyer."

"Well, his son is still recovering from the attack on Siiloo I's grand palace. I beg that he wants to check on his son before going back to whatever assignment the Emperor has for him."

As Tin was about to leave the command centre for dinner, he overheard two officers talking about Lord Vader scheduled to be back here. Half of him was relieved to hear that, the other half was afraid. He wanted whatever punishment his boss had for him to be over with as soon as possible, but the other half was afraid of what Lord Vader had planned for Luke.

 

 

"Are you okay?"

"Hm?"

"You're reoccupied." White pointed out, frowning. Tin shook his head, putting the card down. White was even more observant than Coyote, especially when they're playing cards.

"Tin," White sighed. "It's not like I don't know what happened between you and Lord Vader, really, it's not hard to guess."

Tin almost dropped the card in his hand as he snapped his head up. They're in White's quarter, the Stormtrooper invited him here after dinner to play cards. At first Tin had a feeling that White called him here for an entirely different reason, then he started to believe that White just wanted someone to play card with, and now his earlier suspicious was confirmed. White wanted to talk to him.

"I've no idea of what you're talking about," Tin said as he put on his best mask, but White just stared at him before the sharpshooter sighed and put his cards down.

"Tin, Coyote and I know of what happened when you're called to his room." White said. "Years ago, it's not a coincidence that we're always on our shift when you're called to his room. Every time Lord Vader called you to his quarter, Coyote and I were always on guarding duty. Only we saw you limping from his room and back to your own quarter. Coyote wasn't even surprised when Lord Vader picked him to be the head of Luke's bodyguards."

"Wait," Tin gulped. "You know…you know about this…since…?"

"Almost the first time he…called you for that kind of service," White replied. His voice neutral and his expression was sincere. "Coyote told me that the best thing we could do for you is to pretend that we see nothing. I think that's one of the reason Lord Vader let him live. He knew what he must not talk about while pretending like he knew nothing at all. And it's a silence order that every time he visited Master Luke on Carida or when Lord Vader was back on Darim, Coyote and I would always be on guarding duty during the night."

Now Tin dropped his cards. He no longer wanted to continue the game. "So…you had been keeping this a secret…for years?"

"Yes," White nodded. "Coyote wouldn't approve of me revealing this to you, but I think that you deserve to know."

"Why?" Tin shook his head, his voice hoarse and he felt like crying for unknown reasons. "You and Coyote had never thought about telling me before, why tell me now?"

The sharpshooter looked troubled, but he's not going to lie. White was a kind of person who always told the truth or not telling anything at all. Tin braced himself for it, already imaging the worst scenario of White telling him that he's tired of keeping this secrets and wanted Tin to be more careful the next time Lord Vader called him.

"Because right now you look so lost," White replied bluntly. "I don't know what's going on, Tin, to be honest. But I want you to know that I got your back. I don't care what happened between you and the boss."

 _So this is how he told me that he's trustable_ , Tin thought, still staring at White. "Do I look…that lost…?" he asked out loud before he could stop himself. Tin just wanted to know.

"Yes," White nodded. "After you woke up, you looked like you've lost something. And after Master Luke visited you…you seemed to be preoccupied all the time."

"Oh," Tin sighed. _That's not far from the truth_ , he thought. Now he didn't know what to say. Tin was thankful that White and Coyote had kept what's going on between him and their boss a secret for a long time, but in the other hand it made him feel even more vulnerable knowing that more people had already known what happened behind closed doors.

"You don't have to say anything." White offered, already picking up his cards. "We can pretend that this conversation never happens, if that's what you want."

Tin spent several minutes to consider White's offer, and in the end he nodded. "Yeah, I will prefer it that way." He answered, picking up his cards.

They continued like nothing had happened. Tin was still preoccupied from time to time, and he was grateful that White didn't point that out.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Tin was called to Lord Vader's quarter after the Lord of the Sith got back to Darim. It's midnight and almost everybody was sleeping. The hallway was empty and it made Tin's footsteps echoed as he walked. He met no one on his way to his boss' quarter.

 

Lord Vader wasn't in his quarter when Tin arrived. So he waited, standing still in the corner and waited. He wouldn't touch anything, he's not that stupid.

Several minutes later, his boss arrived. At first it looked like Lord Vader hadn't noticed him at all, but then he was threw against the wall. Tin gasped as the air was knocked out of his lung, and then he was Force-choked.

"I believe that you have realized what your mistake is, sergeant."

Lord Vader's voice seemed to be from somewhere far away as Tin's vision danced. _So he called me here to kill me personally?_ Tin couldn't help but wonder if this was the end of him. But then the force lessened and Tin was dropped down before being pulled upright by the Force. He gulped as he was held immobile by an invisible hands. Lord Vader was in front of him, a hand covered in a glove held out and touched his ribcage. Tin wondered what would happen next, but then his boss applied the pressure down until Tin howled in pain. He was being crushed from pure strength, and it didn't take long until he heard a crack and for pain to shot up to every part of him from his broken ribs.

His legs was spread, pants down, and a hand now moving to its next target. Tin was spun around to be taken from behind. However, this time it was different from the other time he was taken, this time something touched his mind. It's like someone constantly pushing against his skull. Tin was too high on the pain to notice it at first, until Lord Vader applied the pressure that Tin realized his boss was going to break into his most personal space – his mind.

Tin acted it on instinct, trying to push that tapping away. It did only anger the man behind him and turned the push into a slam. Tin lose the fight and his boss poured himself in. It's hurt more than anything Tin had experienced and he couldn't hold back his scream. He screamed and screamed as his boss exploded every part of him, looking at his memories, or searching for something Tin had no idea what it was. And he's moving within Tin all the time, making Tin unable to piece himself together when he was invaded mentally and physically.

To Tin's horror, his boss had also poured something into his mind, manipulating what he felt, just some of it. The pain was still there, but then there was a pleasure slowly growing. Tin whined when his boss slapped his cheeks, before moving to grab his half-hard member. Tin wasn't sure if he was hard because his prostate was being stimulated or because what Lord Vader had done to his mind. He gasped and moaned out loud as his boss jerked him and brought him into his fullness. Tin would have been shocked about this action if he wasn't torn between the pain and the pleasure already.

However, letting him orgasm wasn't in the plan. Tin felt like he was so close, but he couldn't reach his peak no matter how hard his prostate had been pounding. He felt like the last switch that would release him into the world of brightness and then unconsciousness wouldn't bulge because Lord Vader was there, in his mind, keeping the switch from turning. The pain was also too great for him to focus on anything else except the pleasure and tension that kept building and building without a way to be released – not even after his boss had released his load inside Tin.

Lord Vader kept moving even after he had reached his peak. Tin whimpered as his body screamed in pain, but that didn't change anything.

 

His boss continued for what felt like hours, fucking and filling Tin while the clone writhing from pain and pleasure. Tin's body was too sensitive right now. The pressure was still building but the pain made Tin felt like he was dying. This was too much.

"My lord," he gasped out after Lord Vader had come for what felt like the sixth time already. "Please, please…I cannot…" He knew he could be dead from trying to ask for mercy, but maybe dead was better than this. However, all of a sudden that switch was unlocked and now Tin was coming. His orgasm exploded and it blinded him of everything, he didn't even notice himself cramping down on his boss and was filled again for the seventh time, he didn't notice Lord Vader stripping his mind to the core, blowing all concerns, anxiety, anger, agitation, and sadness away, leaving him only the pain and pleasure, until everything turned to numbness as Tin's body gave up and let himself drifted off to somewhere far away.

"Your loyalty is impressive, and you have served me well for all these years…" as Tin's vision darkened, he thought he heard Lord Vader voice speaking so close to his ears. "…you will live, I still have use for you…"

And Tin passed out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC.

 


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

 

The first thing Tin noticed as he slowly woke up was that he felt numb. _Sedative?_ That was his first thought. Tin slowly opened his eyes, taking almost the minute to adjust, before he turned and saw that his left arm had an IV on again. Just like when he woke up in the infirmary those years ago on Darim, with an IV strapped to his arm and his boss in the same room with him.

 _Lord Vader?_ Tin blinked and tried to look around. There was a vibration surrounding him, which was odd if he was on Darim. It didn't take long for Tin to realize that he was on an Imperial shuttle. Probably on a medical bed places in the middle of it. Then, he turned to his right and saw Lord Vader staring at him.

_No, not stare. His head just turned this way. Also, he's wearing a mask, how could you know he's staring?_

Tin opened his mouth and immediately shut it. _I've made mistakes by asking when I was semi-conscious before. I doubt this time he will allow me extra-sedative._ He thought, trying his best to slowly look away from his boss who was sitting on the right side of the ship. The rest of Stormtroopers were sitting on the left or standing guard in the ship.

"Sergeant," then, Lord Vader spoke. "I will allow you one question." The Dark Lord of the Sith didn't seem to be angry, or maybe he was angry but Tin was too under-sensitive to notice, especially when he had sedative pumped into his vain.

_One question? Okay._

"Please don't punish Master Luke"

 _Yup, well done Tin, well done. That's not even a question._ Tin gulped and braced himself if that made Lord Vader got mad.

"I do not think that is your concern." Lord Vader said, before he turned to look outside the widow at the end of the room. Tin craned his neck, gasping from his effort and finally able to see that Luke was in the garden training with several droids.

Half of Tin was relieved that Luke was alright, but the other half was afraid of what might happen. He knew that Lord Vader wasn't going to kill his son, but he's afraid of what the other was capable of when came to punishing. As if sensing his concern, his boss moved closer and Tin cowered.

"Rest and recover," Lord Vader said. His voice offered nothing for Tin to read; just like usual. "This is an order."

"Yes sir," Tin nodded slowly, trying to avoid the dull aches around his body. His boss then turned and exited the room without any further instruction.

Tin lied down, eyes looking at the ceilings before turning his head to the window where he just watched Luke trained. The boy was now deactivating the droids. It seemed like the training was done.

 _Did Lord Vader just… let me go?_ Tin blinked as he thought about what happened earlier. To be honest, Tin was expected to be punish for saying something so stupid. He didn't want to think that Lord Vader was being kind, that's too scary to be true. It's just abnormal for his boss to show such mercy after Tin had made such mistake.

 _And yet, here I am, limbs still intact and currently being told to sleep and recover._ The clone frowned as he tried to think, but then another voice, sounding more reasonable than the rest, spoke up. _You've just survive another stupid mistake, you better not push you luck. Do as he said and stopped trying to find answer; you're not going to get one._

Tin sighed and decided that maybe he should stop trying to figure this whole thing out. So, in the end he tried to sleep as he was ordered.

 

 

As Tin was about to drift off to a dreamless sleep, he felt a hand on his arm. Tin immediately opened his eyes.

"Master Luke?"

"Hi," Luke offered him a grin, but it didn't reach his eyes; Tin could see that. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Tin nodded, wondering if Luke had known of what happened. Well, he guessed it's very obvious to Luke of what happened, and he's wondering if Luke was trying to conceal back what he truly felt. "How are you?" he asked back, pulling himself into a sitting position.

"I'm recovering," Luke nodded, biting his lower lip. "Um…it's better for you to get some sleep. I um…I will disturb you no more…"

"Young master, it's okay," Tin chuckled, it seemed like Luke was still the boy he knew. "But I'm more worried about you. Lord Vader didn't punish you…right?" he asked and watched Luke's expression change. It's clear that Luke was still angry with his father, but that anger was well kept and better controlled now.

"He did punish me, but it's over," Luke shrugged. "I will be going to some space station with him tomorrow. Um…and...well… since you're still recovering, I'm sad you cannot go with me." Luke sounded really sad now, sadder than any time Tin had ever heard since the boy reached puberty.

"Luke, what's wrong?" Tin asked, determine to know what happened. Nevertheless, Luke suddenly pulled him into a hug and Tin immediately hugged the boy back on autopilot.

"I think I'm going to miss you a lot," Luke whispered, he sounded like he was about to cry. "Sorry I just… I just want to stay like this… for a while…" Luke gulped. "Are you okay with that?" the boy asked, loosening his arms a bit in case Tin wanted to pull away.

"Of course it's okay," Tin replied, pulling the boy close. He decided that this must be whatever damn punishment Lord Vader had put Loue through. And if Luke wanted his support right now, there was no way in hell Tin wasn't going to give it to the boy.

They stayed like that for a long time until Luke finally pulled away. He helped Tin lied down without a word and Tin smiled at him. Luke had grown so much, he thought, a strange proud blooming in his chest. "I'm proud in you," he didn't know why he said that, but the smile Luke gave him after that didn't reach his eyes. No, Luke looked sad, but the boy wouldn't let him know of why and Tin still couldn't figure it out yet.

"I…um…I better get some rest. See you Tin," Luke said, his voice shaking. Tin frowned. However, this was late and he didn't want to deprive Luke of anymore resting time.

"Okay, goodnight master Luke." So he said just that and decided to let this go. Luke forced another smile out and nodded. His blue eyes wasn't as bright as Tin used to see. _Luke is sad, I'm sure of this._

"Goodnight Tin" the boy said before he turned and walked toward the door. It slid open in and close with a soft humming sound.

Tin laid down and close his eyes, decided to think about Luke action's in the morning.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

A week later until Tin knew why Luke was so sad that night.

He was running some errands in the citadel when there was an urgent news arriving at the command centre. Tin was there when the officer on the other end reported the emergency. The situation that brought the room into stillness before chaos broke out when everyone was talking to each other in shock and disbelief. And some just stood there, including Tin, still unable to process what they just heard.

Luke helped a Rebel prisoner, Leia Organa, escaped from Death Star, along with two smugglers suspected of being one of many Rebel's spies. A Jedi named Obi-Wan Kenobi was found and defeated by Lord Vader on the Death Star. Nevertheless, the betrayal of Luke was more serious than an old Jedi on a Death Star.

Tin felt like his world just crumbled down. He didn't know why, but tears were streaming down his face after he overheard of what happened. But before anyone could see, Tin sneaked out of the room and made a beeline for his quarter.

It's just three days after the Battle of Scarif, they just lost one important base and now, now this happened. Tin didn't know what to think, he didn't even hear the trooper talking that Lord Vader was coming back to Darim and would arrive here soon.

 

It took Tin a while to calm down and get out of his quarter. Well, not truly calmed down, but he was forced to go back to the command centre because some of the troopers noticed his absence.

Tin did his best to keep everything together until the end of his shift even when he didn't know what he was doing at all; he just did everything on autopilot while his mind was a mess. And if anyone noticed how preoccupied Tin was or how long it took him to response, they didn't say anything.

 

 

After his shift ended, Tin wandered out of the command centre. He didn't know where to go. He wasn't hungry nor was he feeling like going back to his quarter. So he wandered off to the part of the citadel which anyone rarely used these days.

Tin stopped when he was in the middle of the narrow hallway. Tin covered his face and tried to steady his breath, yet all his effort went in vain. He couldn't. The tears kept falling out of his eyes as he tried his best to stay quiet. He couldn't do it though, it hurt too much.

_Luke, Master Luke, why?_

Then he thought about the last time he met Luke. The boy looked as if he was about to cry. His voice was sad and the smile had never reached his eyes.

" _I think I'm going to miss you a lot," Luke whispered, he sounded like he was about to cry. "Sorry I just… I just want to stay like this… for a while…"_

_Oh my Goodness, Luke was saying goodbye._

Now Tin understood why Luke was on the blink of crying. The boy was saying goodbye to him. Luke had decided even before he travelled to the Death Star that he's going to betray them.

Nevertheless, knowing that this decision also brought pain to Luke didn't ease Tin's pain. No. He felt even worse.

 _What did I do wrong?_ He asked himself as his knees gave out and he fell to the floor, eyes red and hands clasped too tightly on his thigh. _What did I do wrong? Surely there must be something I did wrong or he would never betray us. He would never, never betray his father. There must be something. Something…_

Guilt overwhelmed him as Tin tried to think about everything he ever spoke or taught Luke. _Maybe I slip. Maybe I tell him something I shouldn't…maybe I make him misunderstood… What did I miss?_

The memory of former event occurred, when Luke came to him with anger cleared in his voice. Tin sobbed as he thought about that night in the infirmary. The night he told Luke what he really felt, that he had no other choice but to obey orders, that he was meant to be used and casted aside. After that Luke apologized to him and everything seemed to be okay. However, Tin remembered what Coyote had stated that Luke cared about him, even more than his own father sometimes.

 _It's my fault_ , Tin hugged himself, tears streaming down his cheeks as he rested his head against the cool wall. _I slipped, I should have more control over myself. I shouldn't tell Luke about my purpose of existence. I shouldn't…oh no…I turned him against his father. What had I done?! No, no, no, what had I done?_

Then, the door to the hall slid opened. Tin nearly jumped as he sprang up to a standing position, trying to wipe his tears away. He didn't want anyone to see that he's crying, especially his fellow troopers. However, Tin froze in place when he could figure out from the blurred vision that the person in front of him was not a trooper.

It's Lord Vader.

"Lord Vader," Tin gasped when he saw who was in front of him. "My Lord…" His voice broke as guilt overwhelmed him, bringing along shame and the feeling of worthlessness. More tears streamed down his cheeks but Tin was no longer trying to wipe them off.

 _He must be pissed about what happened, and he surely had figured out who was responsible for Master Luke's action_ , one voice in his mind spoke. _And now he's going to kill you._

Another voice continued, _but I don't care if he wants to kill me. It's my fault, and I will take the consequences no matter what._

Deep down, Tin knew that he still wanted to live; but the pain was too much. The pain of Luke betraying them, betraying his father, of Luke choosing to leave the Empire and side with those traitors. And it's his fault; it's because of him. Maybe not entirely, but Tin was sure he's still one of the reasons.

"Lord Vader," Tin's voice was hoarse as he spoke. "It's my fault… it's my fault." His voice broke as he spoke. Tin no longer feared punishment. No, he didn't even fear death. It hurt too much now; to know that Luke had betrayed his boss and that he's the one fuelling such action. Tin didn't bother to say that he's sorry because he didn't think that he deserved forgiveness, especially not from Lord Vader.

The tall figure in front of him didn't say anything and Tin waited for the blow to come. He knew that Lord Vader wouldn't forgive him for such crime, and that the Lord of the Sith wouldn't hesitate to kill him. Or maybe it would be the Force, snapping his throat without having to move closer.

Nevertheless, the blow had never come. Lord Vader didn't say a word, but he moved closer until they're standing just a few inches from each other.

"My Lord…?" Tin gasped as one gloved hand touched his chin and titled his head up. The clone had no choice but to look at the mask that offered nothing for him to read.

 _Maybe he wants to kill me with his own hand_ , Tin thought, closing his eyes when the hand slid down to his throat. He didn't struggle when Lord Vader wrapped his fingers around his throat and pressed hard. Tin gasped on reflex, but forced his body to stay still. _This is what I deserve_ , he thought as he suppressed the instinct to struggle. His mouth hanged open as the reflex ordered his body to try gasping for air. His lungs felt like they're burning.

However, before Tin loosed his consciousness completely, Lord Vader released him. He fell to the floor, gasping as his body trying to take as much air as possible back. He gasped and panted, choking on his own breath.

Then, he was hurled up on his boss shoulder. Tin gasped but didn't struggle as Lord Vader carried him down the hallway. His boss carried him for sometimes before Tin was dumping down in a room that looked familiar. It's his own quarter.

"Lord Vader…?" Tin turned back to his boss who was locking the door with the Force, wondering what his boss had in mind. And then, he was thrown against the wall by the Force, pants and underwear slid down his legs along with his boots.

Tin gasped as cool air touched his skin. He didn't even expect this, didn't think that his boss still wanted to use him after what happened, after what he had done. But then something touched his mind, a dark essence of his boss' thought; Tin didn't fight it and let it poured in. He panted as his mind was shattered to pieces, each pieces were surrounded by Lord Vader's mind. He gasped as he felt like he was being torn apart and then piecing back together before being torn apart again. Again and again.

Tin was vaguely aware of his boss moving within him when Lord Vader slid himself over his prostate. The clone sobbed as pleasured bloomed in his mind, chasing away the sadness and self-hatred. His hands tried hard to find something to grip on, only to crawl at the cold wall that he was pressed against.

Tin could no longer process of what this was about. At first he was sure that Lord Vader would want to kill him, but now they're, having sex in his quarter; his legs locked around Lord Vader's waist and the Sith's hands were on his hip. It's not even painful, no, his boss had separated his mind and tuned down the pain he would get when being penetrated. Now it's mostly pleasure that Tin felt, and he's gasping and sobbing because he didn't know what to feel about it. He had no idea if he should be grateful or ashamed.

Another slam against his prostate and Tin wailed, arching off the wall and stopping half way before he leant into his boss' shoulder. Then he was slammed against the wall, but his head took the least damage because there was the Force cradling it, keeping Tin's head from fully knocked against the metal. He's sure that, if he was allowed to live another day, that there's going to be bruises all over his back; but that's not his concern right now.

Lord Vader didn't say anything as he quickened his pace. Tin sobbed and screamed when he's brutally pounced at, his prostate being slammed again and again until he came undone, shooting his seed at his clothes upper half while his muscles cramping down on his boss. Lord Vader didn't even slow down, never slow down, he kept going at faster and harder pace – milking Tin until he had nothing to give.

Tin whimpered as his oversensitive passage was still being stimulated. His felt numb and his legs started to lose their grip around his boss' waist. However, before Tin's legs slipped fully off the Sith's waist, he was lifted away from the wall. Then, he was dumped down on his own bed.

 _A bed?_ Tin gasped. Never, they had never done this on a bed before except the time Tin was in the infirmary. But he had no time to question as his legs were pulled to rest on his boss' shoulders – something that had never happened before too. Tin grabbed the cover of his bed as his boss continued moving. The dull ach from being overstimulated somehow was more than welcoming. It made him forgot what happened, overwhelmed him with raw pain and pleasure.

Tin sobbed when he realized that he's hard again from pure stimulation to his prostate. He whined as it was dragged up and down his clothed stomach as his body moved along the brutal force of his boss. And if this hadn't shocked him enough, as Tin's legs fell off Lord Vader's shoulders, his hands were pulled and guided to grab on them instead. Tin gasped in surprise as he was pulled into a half sitting position with Lord Vader's hand supporting his back while the other directed how he wanted Tin's hip to move with him.

Tin hadn't counted how many time he had orgasmed without touching his own organ. Pleasure overwhelmed him as he was fucked until he barely remembered what happened before. All the time since his first orgasm, Lord Vader was still in his mind, filling him with pleasure and dulling his pain. Only when his boss was close to his release that Tin just realized what had truly happened. But before he had the time to process it, his boss was coming. And this time it's different than any other time. This was the first time his boss crushed him, bringing their body together. Tin hadn't known how he had grabbed so much hold of Lord Vader's shoulder as the taller male crushed him into the bed. His chest panel pushing against Tin's chest, Tin's legs trapped between his own arms and the Sith's arms; the strong arms that still holding him, cradling his torso.

However, what shock Tin most was the kiss. Lord Vader had never kissed him. Never since the first time he used Tin. But this time, this time he did. Tin had no idea when the mask was removed, only known that when he closed his eyes tightly as he moaned from his orgasm, a pair of callous lips met his. Even that the kiss wasn't anything near gentle and was more about control, it's still a kiss. A kiss that Tin gave up controlled and let himself being devoured.

Also, the orgasm wasn't just physically, but mentally as well. His boss' mind exploded with him, shocking Tin with pleasure that overloaded until Tin couldn't do anything but kept coming and coming until his body had nothing to give. He was aware of seed being shot into him but the mentally pleasure he was feeling was far greater to notice anything else.

Tin held tight on the person above him, sobbing though the kiss. He was half slipping away from pleasure overloaded, but still aware of the scarred lips kept kissing and kissing until he couldn't remember anything anymore.

As he was slipping away, Tin vaguely aware of his boss retreating from his mind, drowning out the sadness and self-hatred, leaving him empty with mild physical pleasure his body received.

Nevertheless, as Tin was about to slip fully into the blankness of sleep, he felt something from his boss. It's very dimmed - hidden under pleasure, anger, and the darkness; sadness.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tin woke up in his own room. It took him several minutes to process what had happened. His body was aching all over, started from his lower half to his back.

But the most shocking thing; he's still alive.

The sex last night wasn't even a torture, not even close. On the contrary, Tin felt even better than before. _I didn't…I didn't feel the pain during the sex._ _No, Lord Vader had blown everything away._ He had no idea why his boss do that. _And the kiss…_

Tin touched his lips, gasping as he remembered the most shocking thing that happened last night. Lord Vader kissed me. He inhaled sharply, recalling his memories to guarantee himself that it's not a dream.

 _Why?_ Tin stared at the ceiling. _Why? Why didn't he kill me? I… I didn't deserve to live… why?_

But the more he thought about it, the more he was met with questions. The damages done to his body weren't fatal, and he would fully heal if given enough time. Tin winced as he sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was in his own quarter, nothing had changed since last night except that he was on the bed with blanket covering his body.

 

However, before Tin had a chance to get up and clean himself, the door to his room opened and White walked in, followed by a medical droid.

"Hi," White spoke casually, as if he didn't notice what had happened at all. "Um…this is your personal medical droid." And he continued, a bit awkwardly as he turned to introduce the new droid. "It's assigned to you this morning." The Stormtrooper Captain paused a bit before stepping back. "I'll wait outside. Don't worry, take your time." And then White was out of the door, leaving Tin with the droid.

Tin's cheeks reddened even that White already knew about what happened between him and his boss. But seeing him liked this…no don't think about it, Tin thought, shaking his head as the medical droid approached him. The droid started talking about the injuries Tin had and its protocal, Tin half listened to it as his mind wondering back to what had happened last night. Nevertheless, he had never found the answer he wanted.

 

 

It took Tin a while to be ready to walk out of his bedroom. White was waiting outside liked what he had said, reading from a datapad.

"How are you feeling?" White asked, keeping his eyes on the datapad.

"Like shit, and sleepy," Tin replied, sighing as his body protested when he moved. "When did you get back?" he decided to ask before anything got awkward.

"Yesterday, on the same ship with the boss," White replied, now pulling his eyes away from the datapad to look at Tin. "You know about what happened?"

"Yes," Tin nodded, gulping. Pain blooming in his chest, voices shouting at him that it's his fault.

"Good," White nodded, handing him the datapad. "This is your new position."

"Position?"

"Yes," White shrugged. "We're reassigned. Some in the squad that don't know much will be assigned back to their former platoon. But those who have been with…his son and us long enough would be coming with us."

Tin nodded, it's understandable. There's no longer a young master to protect. Their job was done.

"I think our boss is very merciful," White continued. "At first I thought that he's going to kill us all."

"He didn't kill anyone?" Now Tin's raised his eyebrows, half surprised. _Well, I'm still alive so I shouldn't be surprised that White and his men live as well._

"He didn't." White shook his head before turning to look at the timer on his arm. "We left in one day. Pack up and rest."

And then the Stormtrooper was gone, leaving Tin with a datapad with the information of where they would be sent to.

Planet Mustafar.

 

 

 

 

 

 

TBC.


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

 

Life on Planet Mustafa for Tin was, if he's being honest, quite boring after the first week of living there. Mustafa was a lava world with mining facilities for ores and had a stronghold where the captured 'traitors' a.k.a. 'Jedi' would be interrogated and killed. But the base, or should Tin say; a castle, which he was assigned to on Mustafa wasn't built to have military purpose. It was a place where Lord Vader stopped by to rest or to spend his free time. Rarely anyone except for a supply ship and Lord Vader would visit this place. Actually, Tin and White's team were the first group of troopers to be allowed into Lord Vader's castle.

Since this place was built solely to serve Lord Vader's interests, there wasn't much to do nor any activity going on except for the normal daily routine; unlike the old base on Darim where there were always somethings to do.

In the first week Tin spent his free time on exploring the base. But in the second week Tin ran out of the place to go - ran out of things to occupy his minds; and Luke's betrayal came back to him. A painful memory which started to eat him from the inside out again. Tin missed Luke greatly, and it's killing him slowly – especially when he had nothing to do.

Still, Tin wouldn't wish for an adventurous routine or anything like that, but nearly every day on this lava-covered planet was so… plain, so uneventful. Nothing had changed much since Tin, White, and their team had arrived, and he meant literally everything. He woke up at the same time liked those passed days, he ate the same thing provided by the droids, and then he checked on everything in the base. The systems always functioned perfectly, the droids had never made any mistakes or showed a sign that they needed maintenance. And there was no season on Mustafa, so the days started to blur together until Tin started to forget the date and had to check on the galactic calendar every morning.

Lord Vader was rarely on Mustafa, which was understandable. The Rebel was growing stronger every passing day. It wouldn't be wise not to have Lord Vader out there, making sure that everything was still under the Empire's control. And when he was back it didn't guarantee that anything would change.

When Lord Vader arrived, Tin and his comrades would line up to greet their boss at the platform. But after that Lord Vader would either; 1) spent his time in the mediating chamber where only his personal guards dressed in red who followed him almost everywhere and Vaneé, Lord Vader's personal servant on Mustafa, were allowed to enter; 2) spent his time in the mediating chamber shortly before spending his time in the hanger tinkering with his TIE fighter; 3) spent his time alone in the room on top of the castle; 4) sent Vaneé to get Tin to his room on top of the castle. In this case, White and his men knew not to ask when Tin almost limping back to his quarter.

Sometimes Tin would check on Vaneé. However, since Vaneé had been looking after himself since before Tin was here, so he guessed that the old man wouldn't need his attention much and would do fine on their own. Vaneé didn't talk much either; he wouldn't talk to anyone unless being talked to first.

White and his team also had the same routines every day. They woke up, ate, and went on patrolling the base. White divided his men into pairs and each pairs would take a 6 hours shift per day. Yet, they still had the rest of the day to do whatever they wanted. And after cleaning some unused storage room, they had a placed to workout. That's the first time Tin sent request for anything special than the normal supplies. He requested for treadmills, chest and shoulder machines, and other gym equipment; since he was now the caretaker of this castle and was given permission to request whatever he wanted as long as his request was reasonable. And six galactic days later, the supply ship that arrived on routine brought everything Tin had requested with it. White and his team were very grateful.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Today was like each other day that had passed. Tin woke up at 7 o' clock, he showered and ate, and after that he checked every system of this base, making sure that they're running properly. After that Tin had his lunch, checked the supplies, and then he was free to do whatever he wanted. Mostly he would spend two good hours in the storage-room-turned gym, working out to make himself stay in shape. White and some of his comrades would join him, if they're not on the shift or if they're not watching some holo-vids. Holonet was allowed in the castle and Tin was grateful for that; he was sure that some of them might go mad if they're completely cut off from the rest of the galaxy.

 

"Yo, good afternoon Tin."

White who was on the treadmill called as Tin entered the gym. The Stormtrooper captain was on his last ten minutes on the treadmill now. Around the room, Tin saw several troopers were doing some cardio and strength workouts.

"Hi," Tin replied, stretching his muscle as eyes the view from the window on the other side of the room. A flow of lava that never stopped. It was as same as it was yesterday. Nothing had changed.

Tin worked out for two hours, just like usual. After that he showered and had nothing to do; dinner would be serve within three hours. So, Tin went to his favourite corridor and just sat there, watching the clouds and the lava.

 _Luke, what are you doing right now?_  Tin often thought about Luke. He missed the boy a lot. Luke had been the major part in his life for more than a decade, and now the boy just disappeared. He had no idea of why Luke would betray his father, but Tin was certain that he must be one of the reasons.

To be honest, Tin knew about Luke's feeling toward him. He knew that the boy was attached to him, even more than to his own father sometimes. It's absolutely normal though, most people tended to be attached to something or someone that had been with them for so long. Yet, the problem was Luke's care for him was too strong that when Tin was hurt by his father, Luke wasn't hesitated to put his hate toward his true parent.

 _Ngh, stop thinking about Luke. There's nothing you can change now._  He tried telling himself that, knowing fully that it wouldn't work. Luke had been a major part of his life, and would always be. Tin just wished that he was crazy enough to ask Lord Vader if the Dark Lord knew how Luke was doing. It's not that Tin feared being punished, but he wasn't sure if he could take it if he knew that something bad had happened to Luke.

 

"Tin"

"Yeah?"

"Lord Vader will be here in two standard galactic days," White said from the holo-pad he had been reading. "Do you think we have to inform Vaneé?"

"I will inform him." Tin replied, perking up from the holo-pad in his hand before diving back down again.

"What are you reading?" White asked from where he was sitting. Normally the Stormtrooper wouldn't be this relaxed, but an uneventful life on Mustafa had finally gotten to them.

"Cooking videos," Tin said, changing his position so he was more comfortable against the cushion behind. "The regular meals here start to bore me. I want to cook."  _Just like when we're on Carida, when I was in charge of preparing the meals almost every day._  But Tin didn't say that out loud, it's still too painful for him.

"Tell me which ingredients you want," White spoke as he skimmed through the galactic news. "I will put those on the request list."

"Will send you the list tomorrow," Tin replied, finishing the video and got up. "I suppose I should go tell Vaneé before I forget about it."

"Totally agree." Came a short answer from White. Tin punched his arm lightly on his way out of the room.

 

It didn't hard for Tin to hunt down Vaneé. The man had never been far from where he worked. However, despite how little he talked, Vaneé was good at listening and he had never once showed his dislike toward Tin or other Stormtroopers. It's more like he didn't care about them but didn't hate them either.

After Tin finished informing Vaneé about the schedule of their boss, he then turned to leave as always. However, this time it's not like all those conversation where Vaneé would just nod as Tin talked and they ended it with that. This time Vaneé spoke.

"Wait." The old man's voice was weak, showing Tin how old he was. The clone immediately turned back, surprised.

"Sir?" he asked, watching as Vaneé looked at him, liked… actually looked at him.

"Clonetrooper," Vaneé called, taking a slow step toward Tin as he spoke. "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course yes," Tin nodded quickly, a bit excited that he got more than a nod from Vaneé. "If I'm allowed to answer that question, I will."

Vaneé regarded him with a strange look in his eyes. But the old man eventually relaxed and continued. "Clonetrooper, I want to know if you have been serving Lord Vader in a sexual ways?"

 _What in the…_  Tin was quite shocked to hear that, honestly.  _Well, sometimes I didn't even think that he knows about my existence on this base. It's reasonable that I didn't expect him to be suspicious about it._

Because Tin and said that he would answer the question if he was allowed too, and since Lord Vader didn't forbid him from telling Vaneé about what he did – Tin guessed that it was okay for him to confirm Vaneé's suspicious.

"Yes, I have." He replied with a voice deprived of emotions – the voice he used when receiving commands, and waited for the next question.

Something flashed in Vaneé's eyes, but it quickly disappeared as soon as White saw it. He wasn't sure of what it was, until Vaneé spoke again. "That's why he visited this castle more often." And this time the old man's voice was a bit colder and quieter than before.

 _Is he jealous?_  Tin thought; it's the first thing that he could think off. However, Tin decided not to think much about it and decided to let his suspicion slid.

He waited for a while to see if Vaneé still had more questions for him, but the old man seemed to completely forget about Tin already. So, after an awkward goodbye, Tin walked back to the room where he had been watching the cooking videos earlier.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tin wasn't sure if he was imaging it, but today Lord Vader seemed to be…a bit preoccupied. Of course Tin wouldn't voice that out loud, but he did notice that Lord Vader's grip on him wasn't as tight as before, nor did he slam in with such force that would leave Tin bruised for several days.

 _Maybe he's tired? It seems like the Rebels has heightened up their game._  Tin thought as he arranged his clothes, half worried about the Empire and about Luke. However, he pushed that thought away as soon as he caught what he was thinking.

"Sergeant"

Lord Vader suddenly spoke up, and it spooked Tin. His boss had barely talked to him after sex, mostly Tin would be leaving quietly after the activity ended.

"Yes, sir," Tin managed to answer though, despite his body still trying to catch its breath.

"Do you still miss my son?"

Then came an unexpected question. Tin almost jumped. He had a feeling that Lord Vader knew all along of what he thought.  _Then why he asked me this? I'm pretty sure that he can read my mind anytime he wants._

"I do, sir," but since Tin didn't want to upset his boss, he decided to be honest.

Lord Vader didn't say anything after that, just turning and walking toward the balcony of his quarter. Tin took that it's time for him to leave, but as he turned and was about to exit the room, his boss called him again.

"Sergeant, come here."

 _Okay, this is totally new,_  Tin thought as he turned back and walked toward Lord Vader. In the past Tin would have internally freaked out over this, but now he had developed some resistance after serving under the Dark Lord for a long time. He's still afraid of Lord Vader, of course, but it's not as strong as before.

Lord Vader was standing at the edge of the balcony as Tin approached him. The clone stopped several meters away from where his boss stood. And in front of them was a river of lava. Hot and bright, and always moving.

"This is where I was born." Lord Vader spoke, his voice still deprived of any emotion. However, what he said that startled Tin. His boss had never addressed him about his personal matters before - despite Luke, of course, let alone his past.

 _He was born on Mustafa? Well, kinda suit him. But…does that mean he has a family here? His parents? Seriously, at first I think that he's born from pure darkness._  Tin thought as he watched the lava moving down toward a waterfall, lavafall, whatever.

"I was a Jedi," as if knowing what Tin was thinking, Lord Vader continued. And that knowledge made Tin blinked with surprise.

 _A Jedi? He was…a Jedi? He was one of them? The ones that betrayed the Empire?_  Tin's thought was going a mile per second now. He looked at his boss and almost jumped when he saw that Lord Vader had turned back to look at him.

However, Lord Vader didn't continue and Tin just stood there looking at his boss – waiting for instruction. It took a while, but in the end Lord Vader turned away and Tin decided that it's a time to leave.

Nothing eventful happened after that. Lord Vader stayed for two days and then flew back to continue whatever business the Emperor wanted him to attend.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

The days had blurred together for the next few months. Nothing happened much. Lord Vader barely visited the place, and some of that visited he didn't call Tin to his private quarter. Tin then learnt from the CCTV later that his boss spent most of his time in his mediating chamber and in his private hanger where he adjusted his TIE-Fighter. And the several occasions that he called Tin to the quarter were brief. The sex was not rough, rather quick but still satisfying. Tin guessed that his boss probably just wanted some relief after a long days of working and working.

One day after all those months where Tin had stopped counting the date, White approached him with a holo-pad in his hand. The Stormtrooper's voice showed excitement.

"You've to read this." White handed the holo-pad to Tin. "I was skimming through the mission reports when I came across it."

"What… 'A mission on Vrogas Vas'? A… Rebel refuelling station?"

However, as Tin skimmed thought the report, he then understood why White wanted him to read it.

 _Lord Vader must had confronted Luke on this planet, I'm sure of that._  Tin thought as he read through the report. Nevertheless, a mission was marked as successful even though several Rebels had managed to escape. And Tin had a feeling that Luke was one among those who managed to get away.

"Thanks," he said to White after he finished reading and handed the holo-pad back to the Stormtrooper. "Thanks for sharing this with me."

"No problem," White smiled at him and then walked away. Tin watched until the other was out of the room that he started to think about Luke again.

 _I wonder where Luke and his father might meet next._  The clone thought as he looked at the lava river from the window. The bright and hot matter still flowing toward the cliff, just liked always.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

This was the first time since he arrived, that Tin was called out of the Mustafa. Lord Vader had requested his presence, and Tin packed his stuffs without asking a question.

An Imperial shuttle came out from the clouded sky was soon as it's time. White and the other would remain on Mustafa. They lined up on the platform and watched him aboard the shuttle in silence. The pilot and co-pilot were called Ja-1 and Ja-2; Tin had a feeling that he would never have a chance to know their true names.

Tin hadn't felt it until the door closed, that's when the loneliness hit him full force. The clone almost choked on how lonely and isolate he felt right now. But he's a soldier, and a soldier would follow the order without complaints, so he sat down and pretended to be napping on the journey toward a Star Destroyer.

After several hours, trying to nap was no longer working, so Tin decided to skim through the mission reports instead. He and White do this sometimes when they had nothing better to do.

As Tin came across the latest mission report of Lord Vader, he just came back from the Shu-torun. It seemed like some barons of that planet had rebelled, so Lord Vader went there to educate them.

After reading the full report, Tin sank back into his seat.  _Okay, so Lord Vader just went back from a successful mission. Right now he must be departing from Coruscant after reporting the mission to the Emperor. So…what do he wanted from me then?_

Yet, before Tin had more time to consider the possibilities, the shuttle suddenly came to an abrupt stop.

"What…the…" Tin grunted as the seatbelt kept him in place and prevented him from knocking his forehead against the wall in front. He heard shouts from the cockpit and decided to untangle himself as soon as the ship was still.

"What happened?" Tin asked as the door slid open. "Why did we stop?"

"We're pulled out from the hyperspace," Ja-1 - the lead pilot, answered. His eyes had never left the console. "How's the hyperdrive?" he turned to ask his co-pilot.

"It'll take ten minutes before we're able to take off. The abrupt shut off damage the engine; it needs time to cool down," Ja-2 replied, panic was clear in his voice. Tin then understood the situation when he saw something on the screen of the console. It showed that beside them was a Rebel's ship, and it's pulling their shuttle in.

"That's not enough, all we can do is warn the Empire about this attack," Ja-1 said, one hand reached out and pushed the emergency message button. It would send an auto-message to the nearby Imperial ships, reporting that they're attacked by the Rebel. "Memo; this is Captain Ja-1, we're pulled out of the hyperspace by the Rebel. They're pulling us toward their ship. We'll proceed the protocol self-destruct. Ja-1, out," the captain then proceeded to send a voice-memo after the first auto-message.

"We're finished. Black box away, hope those Rebel scums won't notice it," Ja-2 grunted, clearly giving up the chance to escape, as he pushed the eject button for the black box of the shuttle. In case they're not around when the Imperial arrived to rescue or investigate the scene, which was likely the later choice, at least there was still a black box around. And from that device, the Imperial would get the rest of the information of the shuttle before and at the time of the attack.

"They won't. The box is too small. It's magnetic and electronical signals are too low to read when there are big ships around," Ja-1 said, grabbing a blaster from a nearby holder. "Now, let's follow the self-destruct protocol."

"When should we detonate the ship?" Ja-2 asked, sitting back and reached for a blaster too.

"Detonate it as soon as we're in their hanger bay," Ja-1 replied as he handed Tin the blaster and quickly typed in the order. "If we're to die, at least take as much of them with us as possible."

"Understood," both Tin and Ja-2 nodded. Tin went out from the cockpit with a blaster in his hand. He watched as the Rebel's ship came closer and closer to them. His hands felt so cold but Tin stood still. Disciplines had been drilled to him for the first ten years of his life on Kamino, he's not going to fall just because he's about to die. If he died, he took the enemy with him as much as possible.

Yet, if there was one thing that made Tin didn't want to die, it would be the chance to see Luke again. Yes, he missed that boy so much, but not everybody always got what they wanted, so Tin buried that thoughts and told himself to focus solely on the present.

 

As the Rebel pulled their shuttle toward the large ship, Tin couldn't help but wondered where the Rebels got this ship from. It's quite huge, able to house small to medium-size shuttles at the same time. He also spotted star-fighters and several attack ships.

 _This must be their medium-size fleet, or larger. It's not as massive nor efficient as Imperial's, but adequate to cut us off guards,_  Tin thought as they're closer and closer toward the hanger bay. He saw several Rebels approached their shuttle, armed and ready to kill. Yet, Tin knew that this Rebels wanted them alive, or at least alive until they got the information they wanted.

"Surrender!" one of the Rebel spoke through the speaker, "there is no way for you to run!"

"I'll draw them closer," Tin called, tightened his hold on the blaster only to remember that he probably wouldn't be using it if they're going to go with self-destruct protocol. "I'm going to open the door."

"Do it," Ja-1 called from the cockpit. "I'll set the self-destruct to 60 seconds countdown. 60…59…" he started to count it down as Tin approached the opening door.

"Put your weapons down! Your hands above your head!" one of the Rebel screamed. Tin wondered if this man had ever taken a prisoner before, it sounded like he's afraid.

"Alright, geeze, take it easy," Tin shrugged, holding both of his hands up to be handcuffed and let the blaster fell to the floor as he stepped out of the ship and on to the hanger bay. "You sounded like it's your first time seeing an Imperial shuttle," he added, aiming to make the Rebels angry and came at him. The more they're closer to the shuttle, the better. Behind him, Ja-1 and Ja-2 slowly exited the cockpit and walked to join Tin.

"Take them away," the Rebel that seemed to be the captain ordered as more Rebels poured in to handcuff Ja-1 and Ja-2. "And search the shuttle!"

Tin almost grinned at the last order as he was pushed forward. Two Rebels were by his side as they leaded them away from the shuttle. Behind him, Tin guessed that Ja-1 must be counting down.

The only warning Tin got before the shuttle exploded was a fearful shout from inside the shuttle. The explosion was bigger than they'd hoped for, and it knocked Tin's off his feet – sending him forward and flatted on his front. His back felt like it was burning and there were shouts and screams everywhere.

Tin's back felt like it was on fire but the clone didn't care. He pushed himself to stand up as soon as his vision stopped spinning. Not so far away from him, Ja-1, Ja-2, and the Rebels who were to escort them were all down on the floor with no sounds nor movements.

Yet, the clone had no time to worry about them. It didn't matter if Ja-1 or Ja-2 were alive or not. The protocol was to bring as many Rebel with him as possible, and that's what Tin's going to do.

Tin grabbed the nearest blaster from the Rebels laid moaning in pain beside him. He sent them both out of their misery by a blast to the head.  _I'm lucky these fools decided to put my hands in the front when they handcuffed me,_  Tin couldn't help but smirk as he turned to shoot at every Rebels he saw. The explosion was a good distraction; it was several seconds before any Rebels realized that Tin was shooting at them.

However, what surprised Tin was the order from a Rebel captain. "Stun only! We need him alive!"

 _So…they truly want information from us,_  Tin thought as he shot another Rebel down.  _Maybe I should kill myself before they can stun…_  but his thought was cut off at that as one of the Rebel managed to stun him. The clone's work immediately turned dark as he collapsed down.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tin woke up to find himself in a bacta tank, with only his underwear, and with his wounds all treated. The clone blinked in confusion, almost mistook this place for an Imperial infirmary if not because he saw the medic first. As soon as he saw the uniform, Tin realized that he's still the prisoner of the Rebel.

 _This is not good,_  the clone thought as he looked around. The room he's in was small, but with adequate medical tools. There was a possible Rebel medic working on a console at one corner and a medical droid.  _This is not good at all. I can't escape while I'm still in here, or maybe I should drown myself?_  The clone was so deep in thought that he nearly missed the second the medical droid notice his raising heartrate and turned to inform the medic.

"Oh, you're awake!" the medic immediately approached the tank. Tin noted from her appearance that she's a Twi'lek. "It's been three days! Man! You're lucky you survived that explosion."

 _I wish I didn't,_  Tin thought, but he said nothing as he watched the medic. The clone decided to say nothing as she fussed over his injuries, telling him that she had been deprived of sleep by staying up and making sure that he didn't die.

"…never mind my babbling," it took several minutes for the medic to get to the topic that Tin wanted to hear. "You're clear to get out of there tomorrow. After that you'll recover in the next room," the medic said, smiling. "Are you exciting about it? Being out of the water?"

Tin closed his eyes and decided not to reply. He heard her muttering something about 'emotionless Imperial puppet' as he let his conscious slowly slipped away.

 

 

The next time Tin woke up, he was on a bed and wearing a white patient clothes. There were bandages on his arms and legs, but overall he was fine. His back still hurt, but not so much that he couldn't lie down.

The clone grunted softly that an attempt to sit up stretched the newly healed wounds. It took him several minute to be able to sit up properly and looked around. The room he was in was surely in an infirmary. He's on the bed on the far left of the room, and there was two more bed between him and the door.

Tin also spotted several cameras around the room, it's obvious that he's being watched.

 _So, the question is, when they will start asking questions and how long I can stand the torture,_  Tin thought, staring at the door as he waited to be approached.

It didn't take long for the door to slide open. Tin straightened his back and prepared to meet one of the Rebel's interrogator, but the person that actually walked in shocked him.

"Master Luke…?"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**TBC.**

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

 

 

"Master Luke"

He called and Luke gave him a weak smile before walking over. The clone studied Luke's face as the boy approached him. Overall, his master's son looked fine, but with a hint of tiredness and a bit of stress.

"Hi, Tin" Luke said, almost timidly as he now stood beside the clone's bed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, a bit sore but I can still move," Tin replied, looking as Luke's shoulder slightly relaxed. Suddenly, Tin didn't know what to say. Luke was still the same as he remembered and this only amplified the melancholy in his heart. He didn't know what to do, honestly. He still cared for Luke, but Luke was no longer with him. The boy was with the Rebels. The boy was now the Rebel.

Without thinking twice, Tin found himself saying "Master Luke, please come back to us."

Luke's eyes widened and he took a step back and it sank Tin's heart. However, he continued anyway. "Please, come back. I'm certain that your father will forgive you. Please."

"Tin," Luke just shook his head. "I cannot go back. Not when my father cannot listen to reason. He's never listened. He's never cared about me."

The bitterness in the boy's voice made Tin wanted to pull Luke into his arms and told the boy that everything was going to be okay – just like when Luke was still a child. Tin used to do that when a storm hit the base and Luke was afraid of the thunders.

"That's not true," the clone shook his head. "He cares about you. He really-"

"He wants me to be his successor, not his son," Luke cut him off. "Tin, please, I don't want to argue with you about this. Please, just…" the young Rebels sighed and sat down on the bed. "…I want to talk to you without bringing my father up. Just, just you and me, okay?"

"Okay," Tin nodded.  _Anything for you._

"Okay, so…" Luke nodded, his expression lighted up a bit. "…how are you doing? I…um… the Rebel's spies said that you're sent to Mustafa. How is that planet?"

Tin wasn't sure that Luke was trying to pry any information off him or not. There was a possibility that Luke was doing that and it hurt Tin's gravely. However, the clone knew that he couldn't blame Luke. They're on a different side now.

"It's all lava and hot. All black and red," Tin said, keeping his voice neutral and not letting his own sadness slipped in. "It's like what you read about on the holonet, just like what you wrote on your reports," he added a bit of Luke's past into this. After Luke turned eight years old, every week he had to do at last one reports about any planet of this galaxy. The boy always asked Tin to check his works before he handed them in.

"That's almost ten years ago," Luke said, but there was a smile on his face. "What do you mostly do?" Luke asked, and Tin raised an eyebrow at him.

"You're not trying to pry any information off me, right?" he said, using his expression and the tone of his voice to pretend that it was a joke. Yet, it seemed like Luke knew because the boy averted his eyes.

"I… honestly Tin, the Rebels asked me to do that, but…" Luke shook his head and turned back to Luke at Tin. "Several cycles ago, the Rebels Intelligence told us that they could interfere with the Empire's transmission. Like…changing some parts of the missive or something like that." The boy seemed hesitated to continue and Tin patiently waited. He knew that Luke would eventually tell him.

In the end, Luke shrugged and continued. "They ended up trying it on a transmission sent to Mustafa. They changed the coordinate."

 _That's how we ended up in the Rebels's hand._  Tin thought, biting his lower lips.  _So that's not a fake transmission, the Empire will have to improve their communication system; if I'm able to escape and inform them, of course._

"Did you specifically pick this transmission?" Tin asked, wanting to know if Luke intended to take him away from Lord Vader.

"No, I wasn't at the base when they tried interfered with the message," Luke replied. "I was informed of what happened two cycles ago. They let me checked on you once when you're the bacta tank. I was worried about your injuries."

"I've survived worse," Tin said, unable to stop himself from ruffling Luke's hair affectionately. He's sure that no matter what happened or how old Luke was, the boy would always have a special place in his heart.

At first Luke tried to act like he didn't enjoy it. Yet, after a few seconds of trying to resist, the boy leant forward and rested his head against Tin's shoulder. His arms looped around and hugged the clone gently, mindful of Tin's injury. Tin sighed and hugged Luke's back, tugging Luke's head under his chin.

"If my father could be half the parent you are…" Luke murmured and Tin didn't know how to describe his feelings. On one hand, he was ready to defend his boss. On the other hand, Tin had to accept that Luke was right about Lord Vader not doing well enough as a father. "…if he could at least try to care about you. He's never cared about you or the team…" the boy continued on and Tin sighed, massaging Luke's shoulder as he kept the boy close.

"You might be wrong, Master Luke," the clone said. "Lord Vader does care about us."

Luke pulled himself back and was about to argue when Tin continued on. "He let Coyote leaved the army unharmed when the rule stated that he must be…terminated because he knows about you. He let all of us live. And he…" Tin closed his eyes. This was hard for him to say, but he's going to say it anyway. "It no longer hurts… it doesn't hurt anymore. It's not because I'm used to it or my sensory is damaged, Lord Vader intends for it not to hurt."

"I…" Luke opened his mouth and then closed it. The boy seemed to be thinking hard about what to say. Then, he just sighed and leant back against Tin. "…I know you're not hurt, not right now. But for how long? How can you be certain that he won't hurt you again?"

Tin didn't know what to answer to that, so he kept stroking Luke's shoulder in a soothing manner that always calmed Luke down. However, before he could think of things to say, Luke abruptly pulled himself away.

"Someone is coming here," the boy said. If Tin didn't mistake it, Luke looked slightly annoyed. Then, the boy stood up and walked toward the door. Luke walked out and the door slid shut behind him. Tin tried to listen for anything and did catch some distinctive talking. It didn't sound like Luke was arguing, so the clone let himself relaxed a bit.

 

A minute later, Luke walked back in and the door slid shut. The boy's expression was the one that Tin knew all too well.

"Is there a problem?" Tin asked, keeping his voice calm and neutral. "They want to send in a new interrogator?"

"I… they wanted to, but I told them you're not ready," Luke replied, sitting down again. "I…I want to move you away from this base. It's a large base with too many people."

Tin wanted to say that Luke should go back to the Empire then, but he knew that's not going to change Luke's mind. So, he decided to go the other way around. "So…what do you think of the Rebels then? Are they like what you've imaged?"

Luke seemed surprised by this question. Nevertheless, the boy straightened his back and started talking. "They're…so much more than what I thought. Both good and bad. They come unite under the same goal; to free the galaxy from the Empire's evil gasp. However…I do find some of them quite unpleasant to work with."

"How come?" Tin prompted. "You said that they'd the same goal?"

"Yes, but…" Luke shrugged. "They also have their own agendas, their own interests. Not all of them, just some of them. And it's… Well… it's not as bad as the Empire's, but it did remind me that not everything is black and white. People are different shades of gray, not one is pure white nor pure black."

"Even your father?"

Luke grimaced at his words, but the boy did nod. "Even my father. At first I think he's all black, but… when I'm less angry and my head is clearer… I know that he's not totally black. Just a dark gray, but never black."

Tin smiled at Luke's words. "You've grown a lot." He added and couldn't help but feel like a proud parent.

Luke's expression lightened and he gave Tin a genuine smile. "Thanks."

 

After that they didn't talk about anything in particular. Luke did tell Tin about his progress with Force training and his lightsaber skill. The boy refused to tell Tin if he had a new mentor or were there any Jedi left, but Tin was okay with that.

However, their peaceful time came to an end when one stern Rebel officer came to tell Luke that he was needed at the command room. Tin didn't say anything as Luke stood up and walked toward the door. Yet, the boy did look back to him, mouthing the silent 'I'll be back' before he left.

After Luke left, the Rebel just turned to look Tin up and down. The clone straightened his back a bit, waiting for that Rebel to speak first.

Silence stretched out until that Rebel walked out and closed the door. Tin sighed and dropped back down to the mattress. It seemed like there was nothing he could do right now but wait.

 

 

Tin didn't have to wait long for the Rebels to make the move. Since Luke had un-verbally told them that he was not going to interrogate Tin, the Rebels decided to move Tin out of the medical bay and leaded him somewhere with blindfold covering his eyes. Yet, Tin still managed to remember the order of turns and stairs they took before he was shoved into a new room. His blindfold was removed before the clone was pushed to sit on a chair.

 _Interrogation room or sort of,_  he thought as he looked around. There were guards in the corner, a table, and another man sitting in front of him.

The interrogator was female who didn't look entirely like a human. Tin blinked and realized that she must be a hybrid between a human and a Mirialan. Her skin tone suggested that she's a human, but the marker on her face showed her another heritage.

"So…" the interrogator started. "…we'll start with your name."

Tin determined to keep his mouth shut and he did just that. He wouldn't make a sound whether what she asked, just like what he had been trained in the academy. The longer the time past, the more frustrated she had become. Tin knew that the Rebel was trying to be the light, to be the good people who wouldn't use violence. But Tin knew better. He knew that there were always ugly truths laying around behind everything.

Unable to pull any information from him, the interrogator waved for the guards to take Tin to another room. And the real face of the pretending-to-be-all-light-and-pure-interrogator was revealed.

 

 

* * *

 

 

After hours of torment, Tin was thrown into a cell.

 _This is more like it,_  he thought, looking up at a metal ceiling and then the metal walls. The room was empty, no window, only one door and one light on the ceiling. Still, he had to give it to the Rebels for trying to be so nice for so long.

Looking back at himself, Tin sighed as he tried to find a more comfortable to sit with his hand still tied behind his back. He missed a tooth or two, he thought. They were lost after one of the Rebel punched him and after they decided to play a game called 'a dentist and a stubborn patience' and just pulled one of his premolar out with a giant pliers. It hurt like hell and Tin was still bleeding.

Apart from the dentistry the Rebels had kindly provided him, Tin also had another pair of broken lips and bruises. His back hurt even more from the 'feet massage', a 'courtesy' from one of the guards. His brain still felt a bit like jelly after being electrocuted. There were brises everywhere along his torso, another courtesy from the guards.

Overall, Tin was tired and he felt like shit. There were still blood in his mouth but he didn't have an energy to split them out. So, all he could do now was sitting with his side leaned against the wall and breathed.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It felt like days had past when Tin saw Luke again, even that it was only several hours after being tortured. Tin was about to drift off into sleep when the door opened and Luke stepped inside.

"Tin!"

The boy gasped and rushed to his side. Luke looked at his injuries and bit his lower lip; there was anger in his blue eyes.

"I'm going to speak to them," Luke said, voice stern and cold. "They have no rights to do this to you."

"They have," Tin replied, still managing a smile as he looked at the boy. "I'm a prisoner, aren't I? They can do whatever they want."

"No," Luke just shook his head. "I didn't think that…oh Force. I didn't think that they would go as far as…this…" the boy bit his lower lip and Tin was torn between wanting to comfort Luke and letting the truth sank in. Tin still wished to protect Luke from the ugliness behind everything - protecting the boy's dream and innocence. Yet, he knew that he couldn't protect Luke forever. So, Tin sat back and let Luke experienced another truth about what he believed in.

"Behind every beautiful words lie their ugly truths, something they always try to hide," Tin spoke, his voice calm and soothing. "This is true to both the Empire and the Rebels," he added and was surprised with how calm his own voice was. Well, talking bad about the Empire might not be good for him. But right now he was in the Rebel's base – Tin guessed that he was allowed to be honest about his side for once; he had no need to protect the Empire's reputation here.

Luke was silent for a while, but then the boy leaned in and Tin let Luke released the cuff that held his arms together.

"I know," the boy finally spoke after Tin's arms were free. "I know that it's not all sunshine and rainbow. But… it's still shocking…" Luke trailed off, looking at the cuff in his hand before he threw it away. "…I'm going to talk to whoever responsible for this. They're… they're not supposed to do this to you. You didn't deserve this."

"There is no need," Tin shook his head, wincing as pain erupted by his movement. He sighed and continued. "Master Luke, you've to accept that I'm a prisoner here. And this is…war. There is no rule. And…if you're to defeat the Empire, being soft is not going to get you anywhere close."

"But this is not…" Luke's blue eyes flashed with anger. Tin watched as the boy took a deep breath again and again before he could continue. "I'm going to make it better. I know the Rebel needs information and they'll try everything. But…but if they let this…cruelty continue… they're nothing but just another Empire," Luke sighed. "…I'm not changing my mind about my side. I know they might not be all pure and light, but it's not going to be another Empire. I'll make sure of it." The boy took a deep breath and somehow Tin felt proud. It took a lot of courage to accept the truth, especially such an ugly truth. Also, the strong determination in those blue eyes made Tin rethink about the whole situation.

At first, Tin was thinking about trying to talk Luke back to the Empire side. But then he stopped because there was a small voice in his mind kept asking if this was what he really wanted – for Luke to be back with them after all of this? Beside, although he did persuade Luke to come back, but would the boy did it because he really wanted to be back or just to make Tin happy?

 _To make me happy, of course,_  Tin knew the answer even before he had to really think about it. It was obvious that Luke cared deeply about him and parting away from Tin was probably the hardest decision Luke had to make when he decided to join the Rebels. Tin found that he respected that strong determination and had no intention to take it away from the boy in front of him.

"Master Luke," so Tin smiled. A genuine and happy smile. "I'll no longer try to talk you back to the Empire side. If this is what you truly want, then I won't stop you. I only want you to be happy. You…you've made me proud."

Luke's eyes lightened up but he said nothing. They just sat in silence before Luke started crying.

"Master Luke?!" Tin gasped and reached for the boy, but Luke reached for him first. The young Jedi hugged him as he cried.

"Thank you Tin," Luke gasped out between each sob. Yet, beneath the tears, Tin could still hear how relieved Luke was. It was like Tin's approval was the only thing Luke truly needed before he could move on. "Thank you."

"I'm proud of you," Tin whispered as he caressed Luke's hair, cradling the boy in his arms. "I'm so proud of you."

Tin had a feeling that Luke was going to do something big, something that would change the galaxy. However, he didn't say it out loud but continued to hold the boy and gave him a soothing massage. For now, Tin allowed his mind to forget where they were and focused on Luke because he didn't think he would have a chance to hold the boy like this again. He didn't want to think of this as a good-bye, but it was still possible.

They talked a bit after that. Luke ensured Tin that he would have a word with the interrogator as soon as possible after he got back from the mission. Tin nodded and told Luke to be safe. However, he didn't tell Luke that it wasn't going to work. Despite how talented and reliable Luke was to the Rebels, he was still a child. And no adult in such position would take his request seriously when it came to an Imperial prisoner.

 

 

Several hours after Luke was gone, several Rebels came to visit him. Tin braced himself as soon as he saw them went into the room. He knew what they wanted from their expressions. They wanted revenge for whatever the Empires had done to them, and they were going to take it out on him.

As he took the first punch, Tin wished that he would be long gone before Luke came back to see what had happened to him - hoping the boy would come back after his body was disposed. He wanted Luke's last memory about him to be the good one, not his crippled and bloody corpse.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

 

To his surprise, Tin found that he was still alive after being used as a punching bag for what felt like ages. He was still alive, bloody and severely injured but alive. He was laying on a medical bed, bandages were applied to his face, torso, and limbs.

 _I'm stronger than I thought,_  Tin thought as he slowly brought his right hand to his face. His arm shook but he still succeeded. After that Tin dropped his hand back to his side and start wriggling his fingers and toes.  _Good, it seems like my nervous system is still working._

It took Tin several minute to be able to sit up. It was a painful and exhausting process but he pulled through. The clone was panting when he succeeded.

Looking around, Tin noted that he was back in a med bay. Also, he was wearing a patient gown, just liked in the first time he woke up here. However, the different was that his left wrist was chain to the bed by a handcuff.

 _So, they still want me alive,_  Tin thought, slowly brought himself back to a lying position. He was exhausted and since there was nothing better that he could do right now, Tin decided that continued sleeping was his best option.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Tin woke up to a loud emergency siren. He didn't have to be a Rebel to recognize this noise; it seemed to be galactically known by everyone.

 _What happens?_  Tin thought as he looked around the room. He was still chained to the bed but there was no one here. However, Tin was still able to hear a lot of people running and shouting outside the room. And after trying hard to listen to those distinctive voices, Tin could make out the world 'Imperial'.

 _So the Empire is here, good,_  the clone grinned, sitting up. Sitting up still made him pant but Tin was determined to get up on his feet before the imperial broke in. He didn't want to look weak and pathetic in front of them. And secondly, he didn't know if the Imperial was here to sweep the Rebels off and search the base, or just bombed this place to pieces. In that case, Tin needed to move. He wasn't afraid of dying, but this time he couldn't die yet – not until he had got his message to Lord Vader.

The clone tested the handcuff and grinned because he knew how to work himself out of this. He knew this type of handcuff and was able to break the artificial plasma chain between two cuffs with a right way to pull and shut the circuit down. However, the process still consumed strength and Tin found himself panting heavily after he was done.

 _I'm getting older, and weaker,_  Tin mused, still panting.  _No, no, this is not a time to sit and brood. I need to get out of here._

With pure determination, Tin pulled himself to a standing position. This process also consumed strengths and he had to lean on the wall for support. It took Tin several seconds before he could start walking and pain flooded through his veins as soon as he did. Yet, Tin remembered his training to focus his mind elsewhere and continued to walk.

Tin headed toward the door. It seemed that luck was on his side because the door wasn't locked. Yet, as soon as the door slid open, Tin was met with several armed Rebels who were about to open the door to get him.

The clone tried to fight back as he was pulled harshly out of the medical bay. With the little strength he had, it didn't take long until Tin couldn't do anything but walking into the direction that the Rebels wanted him to go, surrounded by a squad of Rebels. His hands were tied behind his back and his injuries were screaming in pain.

As soon as the squad of Rebels had him under their control and ordered him to start walking, Tin had picked up a lot of things from the distinctive noises and activities around them. The Rebels were evacuating. An emergency evacuating. The Imperial had found this base and they were breaking in. Tin was glad the Imperial was doing such a good work on making the Rebels on a run. Yet, he still couldn't help but wonder why the Rebels had chosen to waste their limited resources on him. These squad would probably be more useful with helping the evacuation.

 _Why am I so important that they need to send a squad to get me?_  Tin thought, confused. _Presumed that they're not idiots who thought the Imperial with bargains for a life of one sergeant. Maybe I'm one of the very few prisoners they've and they're really in need of information? Or maybe…maybe because I'm important to master Luke?_

After a few seconds of trying to chew on these options, Tin decided to drop the subject and paid more attention to what happened around him. Now they were out of the building and were crossing a bridge linking two buildings together; these two buildings were built on two side of the river. Also, Tin could spot smoke and fire on the distance along with faint gunfire. Up on the sky, he could make out several Rebels ships trying to escape, only to be shot down by many Imperial fighters approaching the area.

 _Good, blast them down guys,_  Tin thought as he was shoved into the entrance of the other building and into another series of passageways. However, Tin could still guess that they were approaching a hangar bay - judging from many Rebels heading this way with their supplies.

Tin guessed that this Rebels base must be quite huge. Those Rebels ships he had seen getting shot down seemed to have taken off from somewhere else. That meant this place must have at least two hangar bays. And judging from how far all those smoke and the source of gunfire were, it seemed like the other entrance to this base were very far away from here.

As he was pushed to turn at one corner, Tin was able to look at the map of the base and got a brief image of it in his head. This base was truly huge, with three separated facilities - each with their own hangar bay and several entrances. The question was, did the Empire manage to cover all the entrances or not.

"Move!"

One of the Rebel pushed him with the end of their blasters and Tin stumbled forward, groaning as he could feel the stitches tore. Another Rebel jabbed their blaster right into his bruises and Tin winced, biting the inner of his cheeks to will himself not to make a sound.

Silently, they walked into what looked like a storage room. Many Rebels were busy moving whatever they stored here toward two large entrances at each side of the room. Tin was sure that one of these two entrances, or both, would lead to a hangar bay.

The Rebels pushed him toward the right entrance. They joined the panic wave of Rebels trying to evacuate and save their resources as much as possible. There was a large opened gate at the end of the passage and Tin was sure that it was a hangar bay. However, as they were half way there, the screaming began.

"Imperials!"

"Back! Back!"

"They're here!"

"To the other hangar!"

The frantic shouts were accompany by sounds of gunfire and screams. Tin was pulled backward and he stumbled, grunting as one of the Rebel dug their fingers into his skin to haul him to his feet.

"Back!" that Rebel shouted at him. Tin was pushed around them and for a moment he weighted his option on stealing their blaster and tried to take as many Rebels with him as possible. However, that thought was stopped by a sound of something crashing and more screaming.

"They're bombing this facility!"

"To the hangar! To the hangar!"

"It's Vader. It's Vader!"

 _Lord Vader is here!_  Tin thought, almost smiling. Now what he had to do was stay alive a little longer – just long enough to deliver his report.

"Don't you get any idea!" one Rebel his him across the face and Tin grunted as blood ran down his nose. "We're not letting you run back to your master."

"As much as I want to see you dead, the order is that the boss wants you alive," another one grumbled, pushing Tin to walk faster before forcing him to run.

They emerged back into the storage room. This time they went to the entrance on the left. The guards taking Tin was pushing and pulling their way through the crowd, shouting that they had a very important 'asset'.

It took a while but in the end they made it into the second hangar. Tin looked around to see Rebel ships readying themselves to leave the base. Most of the ships here were half loaded and would be leaving soon.

"That's our ship!"

Beside him, one of the guard shouted to her friends as she pointed at a small ship near the center of hangar. The other Rebels immediately pushed Tin toward that ship, and that was when every door of the hangar bay slid shut. Then, one of the ship which was about to take off flew right into another ship, crashing both of them to the wall and exploded. People screamed while some were already dead from the blast. And it was not an accident.

Tin almost smiled.  _Lord Vader is here._

 

 

 

 

 

 

**TBC.**

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

 

 

Tin had never thought that he would enjoy a massacre, but he did. Just a little.

It started with ships started crashing into each other and exploded, killing the Rebels along with destroying the base. Tin didn’t see his boss at first, but he knew that Darth Vader was in here somewhere.

“He’s there!”

“Right there!”

“Open fire!”

Orders were shouted and fingers had pointed. Tin followed their directions and decided that his boss must be around the left side of the hangar.

“We’ve to get the asset out of here,” one of the guards around him said. Her face turned pale as her eyes darted everywhere, looking for an exit. “We’ve to get out of here.”

“There is no way out, the doors are jammed!” Another Rebel shouted back and Tin had a feeling that this was not a massive malfunction. No, this was his boss’ doing. And, despite having seen his boss in action several times, Tin was still impressed.

Screams were heard and more crashing came. There were sounds of gunfire and dying souls. Some Rebels ran toward the left side of the room to hold Darth Vader back while the other tried to get the door opened. Tin was pushed and pulled toward the nearest exit where several Rebels were trying to cut through the metal. The clone watched they worked and wondered if they would make it in time.

Behind him, the slaughtering continued. He hadn’t seen the bodies yet but the screams were enough for imagination. And, from the look of the Rebels around him, Tin knew that they had realized how low their chance of survival was.

“Almost there,” one of the Rebel cutting the door said, grunting as he pushed the tool harder. However, before he could push the chainsaw with metal-cutting laser down the door any further, he was held up in the air by an invisible hand. Then, the man was dropped right on top of the still activated chainsaw. It almost cut him in half.

One of the Rebels screamed while the other almost emptied their stomach. Now they knew that Darth Vader definitely had them in the palm of his hand. It was only a matter of time before all of them were dead.

“Shit, shit, shit!” One of the Rebels repeatedly cursed like a mantra. “I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t sign up for this!”

Another Rebel grabbed the chainsaw and pulled it from under the dead body. Some turned away and some covered their mouths at the scent of burnt flesh.

“We’ve to get out of here, we’ve to get out of here,” the Rebel holding the chainsaw repeated as he tried to continue the cut on the door. Sadly, he was also lifted and dropped back right on the chainsaw too. His scream was terrifying and even Tin, who had seen enough violence during his years or working for the dark lord, had to look away.

One of the guards then grabbed Tin’s arm, pushing him to the door on their left not so far away. “We cannot give up yet!”

As they ran for the other door which was being worked on, a wreckage of a ship crashed right into it – killing the Rebels there with its momentum. Tin and the Rebels surrounding him stopped dead in their track. They all looked to the direction that wreckage came from and saw a circle of Rebels trying to shoot down someone.

“Don’t freeze! Go!” the man who seemed to be the leader of this squad shouted and they went on. Tin could see fear and terror in the Rebel’s eyes. However, Tin knew that all of them were going to die. His boss didn’t close all the entrance of this hangar to trap them in. No. He closed all the doors so they couldn’t escape the slaughter. He wanted everyone to know why he was feared and why they should fear him. And fear would be the only thing they felt before their death.

Tin had to give it up to the leader of this squad for hadn’t given up yet. He still tried to find a way to get out of here, while some of his team had almost frozen in place.

 

In the end, they could not escape. The hangar almost collapsed form how damaged it was. No ship was usable. Dead bodies were everywhere.

“Don’t c-come any c-closer!”

One of the Rebels were brave enough to point his gun at Lord Vader. The other followed and froze when their friend’s neck was snapped.

Tin watched as Lord Vader walked forward. He looked like he just walked out of his ship except for his cape. The cape was the only thing indicated that his boss had been in a fight. And Tin watched as, one by one, the Rebels were cut down.

Before Tin knew it, he was alone in the hangar, surrounded by dead or dying men and women, standing in front of Lord Vader.

His boss deactivated his lightsaber, but Tin didn’t let himself relaxed. He knew that there were more than ten ways that Lord Vader could kill him without using his favorite weapon.

“Sergeant,” his boss spoke, “your interrogation team, are they among these bodies?”

Tin looked around, over the corpses surrounding them. He wasn’t sure if he should walk around, but his boss had turned and started walking, so Tin did the same. He had no idea why his boss asked if the Rebels interrogation team who interrogated and tortured him were here, but the clone followed his boss around and kept looking nonetheless.

And, in the deepest part of his mind, Tin couldn’t help but thought that somehow this was similar to a cat showing the owner their kills as a gift or whatever.  _Lord Vader as a cat? Tin, you’re going to get yourself kill._  He told himself, biting the inner of his cheeks as a punishment for letting his mind wandered off that far. However, it seemed like luck was on his side because his boss seemed to be preoccupied with other things to focus on reading his mind, or else Tin was sure that he would be dead.

 

After one round of walking silently around the almost collapsed hangar, Tin shook his head. “They are not here, my lord.”

“Very well,” Lord Vader said and turned sharply toward the exit that would lead to the storage rooms. The wreckages and bodies barraging the door were thrown to each side by an invisible hand. The door was ripped off from the wall. Then, there was shouts and gunfire.

Tin was surprised that how many Rebels were behind that door. They were either running away from the Imperial in the other hangar or here to try and get their friends out. And when they saw Tin and his boss, they immediately opened fire.

Tin wasn’t hesitated to jump for a nearest blaster on the floor despite how painful his body felt right now. His sudden movement had caused pain to erupt through his body but Tin bit his cheeks again and pushed on. The firing had started and Lord Vader had already activated his lightsaber. As his boss deflected those blast back to the shooter, Tin shot back and dove behind a wreckage for a cover.

“This is nonsense,” Tin heard his boss said before the wreckage he was using for a cover started to float from the floor. In that split moment, Tin thought that Lord Vader disapproved of him using a cover. However, the real answer came in the next second as that wreckage floated and then flied right into the passage, killing the Rebels and pushing them back.

As his boss advanced into the passage, Tin followed behind him. He shot when he could and tried not to get himself kill because there was nowhere for him to take cover except behind Lord Vader. And hell would he did that. He would never use his boss as a cover, at least not intended to do so.

They advanced to the storage room, leaving more dead bodies behind. There, there were still some Rebels fighting the Imperial troopers. As Lord Vader stepped into the room, the Rebel’s face turned paler and they started to shout for retreat.

Tin knew that he must looked ridiculous in his comrades’ eyes. Bruised and wounded, with half of the bandages torn and still in a patient gown, with a Rebel blaster in his hand. But no one would dare make a joke when their boss was here, so Tin was a bit relieved.

Lord Vader leaded on without saying a word. Tin and the rest of the trooper followed. One of the troopers had whispered to him if he needed a medic, but Tin shook his head and gestured toward their boss to say that this was not the time. That trooper understood and immediately commed the medics and told them to stay in their positions at the furthest back of the group.

They advanced into the base. More Rebels were dead. They cleared out each room, every room, killing everyone in there. Tin hadn’t done much of the shooting, not because the blaster felt so heavy in his arms or because his legs were shaking, but because somehow he was pushed to the middle of the formation. And there was nothing much to do except marching on.

 

As they reached the other exit of the base, Tin had spotted several familiar faces of several dead bodies. Those were the Rebels whom had beaten him.

“Lord Vader,” at that exited, there were another group of Imperial troopers. And they had prisoners. “These are the Rebel’s intelligence. We captured them as they tried to flee this facility.” The commander said and stepped back. Tin looked at those prisoners, the interrogation team was among them.

“Install the bombs and clear out,” Lord Vader simply said. “We will not take more prisoners.” He then pointed toward Tin and some of the troopers around him. “This group stay.”

“Yes, my lord,” the commander nodded and turned to point the way each squads would go to install the bombs.

“You will get nothing from us,” the interrogator that interrogated Tin said. But her eyes betrayed how brave she tried to look.

Lord Vader didn’t say anything but held up his hand. Then, the interrogator screamed as every bone of her left hand were broken in half.

“We will see.”

 

By the time the Imperial had finished installing the bomb to the whole facilities, one of the captured Rebels was already death and the rests were beyond terrified. Even Tin who wasn’t on the receiving end of the torture was shaken. However, he and the rest of the Stormtroopers standing there just stood still through the whole ordeal without making a sound. The only sound beside the screams echoing that empty corridor was a sound of an Imperial droid recording what the Rebels had spilled.

Among the Rebels, Tin had a feeling that the interrogator and her team were in the worst shapes. They were tortured the most and all of them were still alive. Barely, still but alive and conscious.

Tin legs started to feel numb and he almost lower his blaster a long time ago because his arms were protesting. Yet, somehow he maintained his posture.

Another scream was ripped from the Rebels. Tin kept his face blank as he watched her humerus being pulled out of the sockets. She had once threatened to break Tin's arms while interrogating him. In the dept of his mind, the clone wondered if Lord Vader wanted him to watch the Rebels who tortured him receiving a crueler and even more horrified treatment.

“All explosives had been installed, my lord,” the commander came back to them after finishing his task. “All troops had cleared out of this facility.”

Lord Vader didn’t acknowledge the commander. Instead, he activated his lightsaber and cut off the limbs of the interrogator and her team. It made the commander took one step back, startled, then he schooled his expression back to the same professional look.

“Take these prisoners back to the ship,” Lord Vader said, deactivating his lightsaber. “Keep them alive until they have nothing to spill.”

“Yes, my lord,” the commander nodded and then gestured for the Stormtroopers to take these prisoners back to the ships. And for those who no longer had their legs, they were dragged by the hair or the shirts.

Tin moved to help his comrades even when he was about to collapse anytime soon. However, he wasn’t able to make more than three steps before his boss stepped in front of him.

“Follow me,” Lord Vader said and took a sharp turn toward the passage that would lead to a storage room. Tin followed behind, doing his best to keep up despite how exhausted and injured he was.

 

They emerged back to the hangar where Lord Vader had slaughtered the Rebels. They walked passed the corpse and wreckages toward the gate of the hangar which automatically lifted itself up as Lord Vader approached. And beyond the Rebel base was an impressive greenest of the forest, stretching out to every direction.

His boss stopped at the edge of the hangar. Tin stopped and wait. After a few second, Lord Vader spoke. “The Rebels in the interrogation team, are there anyone left?”

Tin shook his head. “No, all of them are dead or captured.”

His boss offered no reply and Tin said nothing. They just stood there and watched the forest. Somewhere far away, there were still sounds of explosion and gunfire, but Tin knew that it would be over soon.

Seconds later, a ship slowly and gracefully approached the hangar. Tin recognized it immediately. It’s a Naboo Royal Starship. He had seen it on Mustafa before, in Lord Vader’s private hangar.

The ship approached and softly landed at the edge or the hangar. The door was opened and his boss stepped in. Tin had no choice but to follow. After that, the door slid shut and the ship took off.

 

As soon as the beautiful silver ship left the hangar, a chain of explosion began. Tin looked out of the window in time to see the three facilities of the Rebel’s base exploded to pieces.

Of course, Tin was curious of why Lord Vader used this ship instead of his usual TIE fighter, but he wouldn’t dare ask. And as the left the planet atmosphere, it was clear that his boss wouldn’t be joining the Imperial fleet. Instead, he set the course and the ship jumped into hyperspace. Then, he turned toward Tin.

Tin did have a feeling of what was going to happen, but he wasn’t prepared for what his boss said.

“Strip”

 _Strip?_  Tin blinked.  _Lord Vader has never… never mind. Just…just do what he said._  His shaky hand slowly moved to undo the knot keeping the patient shirts holding itself together. And when he was done, Tin discarded of the gown and now stood almost naked in front of the dark lord. In the back of his mind, the clone wondered what his boss would think of him since he was still covered in cuts, mostly bruises, stitches, and some bandages which still managed to cling to his body.

Lord Vader strode toward him and Tin stood there, waiting. He let his muscles relaxed and made himself went limp when the Force took his weight. A hand touched his neck and Tin closed his eyes; somehow he knew that Lord Vader wouldn’t kill him. Not yet.

“You have something in your mind.”

Tin took that as a permission to speak. “I’ve met Master Luke.” He said without looking at his boss. His eyes were glued to the ceiling of the ship. “He is well. He has grown.” Then Tin closed his eyes and relaxed into the grip.

Silently, Lord Vader’s mind touched his and Tin welcomed it. He let his boss looked into his memories, every single one of them. His mind was shattered to pieces and surrounded but Tin didn’t care. His job was finished and he wasn’t afraid to die. He knew that he could become a loose end, a weakness – for both Luke and his father. So, ending him seemed to be the most reasonable choice.

Yet, the crushing force had never come. And Tin opened his eyes when his legs were moved. They were spread and pushed toward his shoulders. He was dried but it’s okay, this wouldn’t be the first time. Yet, something slick pushed in and Tin wailed when a wave of emotions overwhelmed him. Anger, pain – strong emotions. It drove him toward the edge in a record time. Tin screamed in shock as the gloved fingers scratched harshly against his prostrate. He came before he knew it. Moreover, Lord Vader had pulled his fingers away and slid in even before Tin finished his orgasm.

Tin was still gasping for air when he felt himself being lowered. No, both of them were lowering to a large chair embeded to the cool floor of the ship. Then, Tin found himself straddling his boss’ lap. His knees and lower had touched the seat of the chair which was large enough to accompany Tin’s legs. The clone could sense a humming of the ship through his skin and, mostly, his boss’ hardness within him.

Tin inhaled sharply as he looked at the black mask in front of him.  _Seating in Lord Vader’s lap!_  His mind was having a hard time comprehending everything that just happened.

A dark essence of his boss’ mind squeezed his and Tin gasped. He shakily lifted himself up then dropped down. They had never done this before but the hunger in those darkness told Tin what the dark lord wanted him to do. Pushing himself up and dropping down. Riding his boss. Servicing him.

After a first trial and error, Tin had learnt to balance his weight and worked it out. He wasn’t sure if he was allowed to touch the stoic figure he was riding, so he kept his hands still at his side. Yet, his fists had curled and uncurled, his arms waving a bit as he tried to find balance. Then, a force tugged at his arms and the order was sent to his mind. Tin immediately complied. He crossed his arms behind his back, completely at Lord Vader’s mercy as he raised up and dropped down, sucking air as he tried to keep moving.

Tin didn’t know how long he had been there, sitting like a bitch on Lord Vader’s lap and rode him. His arousal was back and he was hard, pre-come leaking and smearing his own skin. Tin bit his lower lip to stop the grunt as he worked. Now his whole body was shaking and Tin wasn’t sure if he could keep it up any longer. His strength was running out and he was close, so close.

Tin was panting by the time his boss hand taken his arms out of the armrest. Then, to his utter shock, the dark lord wrapped one of his hands around Tin’s member and squeezed. That’s enough to make the clone came with a yell, cramping down on the organ inside him.

“I did not tell you to stop,” an order came as soon as Tin’s pace faltered because of his orgasm. The clone bit his cheeks and kept going – fucking himself through his own release. Then there were hands on his hips, moving him up and forcing him down with raw strength – forcing him into a brutal pace. Tin cried out as he was overstimulated but he had no choice but to comply.

Tin didn’t know how long he had been riding his boss. His legs felt numb but he still tried to keep up with the pace Lord Vader wanted. He threw his head back when another orgasm overwhelmed him, letting the darkness around each pieces of his shattered mind devoured him. And, somehow, Tin had a feeling that this sex was not just physical, but mental as well.

 

The clone didn’t know how long time had passed. He only knew that he had orgasmed more than three time and that his boss had reached the peak once. Yet, Lord Vader was still hard and he didn’t let Tin stopped. His legs felt raw from where they were rubbed against the leather chair and his body was bursting with arousal and exhaustion. Tin was as ready to pass out as much as he needed to be driven off the edge. Lord Vader no longer used the Force, only raw strength was enough to control Tin.

Suddenly, his boss decided to change the angle and Tin gasped as invisible hands pulled his legs to rest at Lord Vader’s shoulders. The clone was folded in half. Tin bit his cheeks and did his best to keep his arms behind him despite wanting to grab for support. It was a quite dangerous position, one slip of Lord Vader’s hand and Tin would be flipped back – hitting his head against the cold floor of the ship. Just his muscles alone weren’t enough to keep him seated, folded in half, with his center of gravity out of balance, and his hands unable to support his weight.

So, with this position, Tin couldn’t do nothing but kept himself still as the dark lord thrust into him and thrust him forward on his member. The clone let out a soft whine as his raw skin made rubbed against the fabric of Lord Vader’s clothes, but he wouldn’t going to complain.

A sound of a mask being removed caught Tin’s attention. The clone bent his neck and gasped when he saw that his boss was removing the mask. His eyes were as piercing as ever and he was leaning forward. The Force titled his head back and Tin let his neck be exposed. Then, human teeth touched his skin at the base of his neck and bit down until it broke and bled.

After what felt like eternity of immense pleasure and pain, Tin was driven off the edge along with his boss who finally let go of his neck. Tin closed his eyes as his latest orgasm ripped through him and kissed back when a pair of scarred lips touched his.

It was a blurred after that. The exhaustion had finally won and Tin couldn’t really move as Lord Vader pulled out. He was slid down to the cold floor, half awaken, half in pain and half in the bliss of his orgasms. Tin watched his boss adjusted his clothes and put his mask back on - while Tin laid there, in front of the chair, naked, and used.

Tin watched as Lord Vader went back to the console. His eyelids felt heavier and heavier as time passed. His discarded down somehow floated up from where he had discarded it and draped itself over Tin’s half curled form, helping a little with the cold air of the ship. And, finally, after he had been fighting off his exhaustion for so long, Tin passed out.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

When the clone woke up again, he was in a bacta tank and back on Mustafa. White was the first person to greet him.

“How was your vacation at the Rebel’s base?” White asked, tapping the tank with a smile on his face. “I’m glad that you’re up.”

Tin could only nodded and sighed into his breather. White nodded and turned to tell the medical droid to get Tin out of the tank.

Once he was out, the droid had checked over him and stated that it would be best for Tin to spend several more days in the medical bay. Tin couldn’t agree more. He still felt like he was ran over by a truck.

“How long had I been in there?” he asked White as the medical droid helped him into a patient clothes. White looked up from the tablet in his hand.

“One and a half galactic week,” the Stormtrooper replied.

“How is the situation?” Tin continued, sighing as the droid and White helped him laid down on a bed.

“Nothing new, no new assignment except for you,” White answered, turning to fully face him. There was a weak smile on the Stormtrooper’s face. “After Lord Vader brought you back to Mustafa, he executed Vaneé. And…you’re going to take Vaneé’s place.”

“What?” Tin blinked, surprised and confused. “Wait, why would he do that?”

“I don’t know,” White shrugged. “Maybe he knew Vaneé had been giving us a very cold shoulder and was tired of that? No idea Tin, but you’re going to take his place. Congratulation on promoting to be Lord Vader’s chamber keeper.”

“Shit, I know nothing about his chamber,” Tin shook his head and then raised his eyebrows when White handed him the tablet in his hand.

“Your guide on how to properly take care of that place,” White said. “It contains everything you need to know to be the chamber keeper. Hey, don’t make that face. It’s not like you cannot order us to help you, we’ve almost nothing to do here anyway. And don’t worry, Lord Vader isn’t here right now. He’s out there somewhere, kicking those Rebels’ ass. He won’t be back until next galactic month.”

“Thanks,” Tin nodded, relieved, and let out a small smile as he took the tablet from White. “I suppose that I’ll start working right after I’m released from the medical bay?”

“Exactly.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

**TBC.**


	11. Chapter 11

 

 

Being a Chamber Keeper wasn't as boring as Tin had thought. It wasn't hard either, so the clone was quite happy with his new job.

Today was like any other day. Tin stretched, yawned, and got out of his bunk. He was moved to Vaneé's old quarter. It was larger than his older one, but with almost nothing new. A bed, a table, a closet, and a bathroom.

The clone got ready for the day and walked out of his quarter after he finished his morning routine. The first thing he did was to check the Chamber. He checked the system, especially the system supporting the mediation tank his boss used. Tin hadn't seen Lord Vader used it yet.

After checking the system, Tin ordered the cleaning robots to start their usual routine. They would clean everything in the Chamber. This would take the whole morning. So while they worked, Tin would go get something to eat. Unlike Vaneé who always preferred solitude, Tin preferred a company of his friends.

"Did you sleep well?" White greeted him as soon as Tin entered the room. The clone nodded, turning to grab his plate and seated himself in front of White.

"I did," Tin said. "How about you?"

"Same," White nodded.

They had breakfast in silence. Other troopers joined in quickly. Greetings were exchanges as time went on. More and more troopers filled in the room as they continued their morning routine.

 

After breakfast, Tin went back to check the Chamber. The cleaner robots had completed their task and now it was time to send in the maintenance droids. Everything must always worked perfectly.

It's almost lunch time when Tin left the Chamber to join his comrades at the dining hall. And as soon as he arrived, White waved him over.

"Lord Vader would arrive in the evening," White told Tin as the clone sat down with his plate. "He'll stay here for two nights, then all of us will leave for a visit to planet Noska."

"Noska?" Tin blinked. He vaguely remembered this planet. It was in the Middle Rim. This world was famous of their wealth and their loyalty to the Empire. "While they need us to go?"

"I'm not sure," White shrugged. "But it seems we'll be boarding a Star Destroyer. This one with Lord Vader's private Chamber. All of us, except you, are assigned to guard this Chamber along with his personal guards."

"And I'm assigned to take care of the Chamber?"

"Yes," White replied and continued. "And you'll be using a quarter near that Chamber too, while the rest of us will bunk somewhere in the sleeping area of the ship."

"Got it," Tin nodded. It's reasonable to put him there. Besides, he wouldn't be doing much except making sure that the Chamber was working.

Tin went to check on the maintenance droids after lunch. All of them had done their job perfectly and Tin was satisfied. But at the same time, he now had nothing to do. So, the clone decided to go to the gym. Working out was also a routine. However, today every troopers didn't work out in the late afternoon as much as they normally did. Their boss would be arriving in the evening, all of them must be presentable.

 

 

White and his other friends lined up in the hangar of the fortress as Lord Vader's TIE-fighter approached. Tin was standing at the head of the left line while White was the head of the right line. All of them were dressed in Stormtrooper uniforms except for Tin who dressed in his standard grey uniform.

The TIE-fighter slowed into a stop. Seconds later, their boss emerged from the ship. He was as imposing as always.

Some might think that Lord Vader preferred a grand entrance with row after row of troopers lining up. The truth was the opposite. Their boss preferred simple but efficient. A simple line with a handful of troopers was acceptable.

"Dismiss," was all Lord Vader said after he reached the lines. White and other troopers complied and started walking toward the door quickly. Tin turned to leave too, but an invisible hand tugged at his arm and the clone stopped. After all these years of living and serving the dark lord, Tin was used to being manhandle by Lord Vader. Or, to be exact, used to Lord Vader handled him with the Force. Now Tin had learnt which touch means. A small or simple tug told him to stop or turn. A forceful grip told him to relax, so he wouldn't hurt himself when Lord Vader wanted to be aggressive.

Tin stood still and waited for an order. The order didn't come but there was another tug, telling Tin to start walking.

The clone obediently followed the dark lord out of the hangar. They headed toward Lord Vader's private Chamber. Tin didn't say anything as his boss stepped into the Chamber. However, his heart was racing. This was a new territory. Tin felt like when the first time he was deployed. His first mission. His first arrival to Darim.

It was a simple task, just presses two button. One to start the machine helping his boss undress, another to start the machine filling the mediating tank. Yet, Tin was nervous as hell. He took a deep breath and walked toward the console, telling himself it was an absolutely simple job.

Lord Vader stepped toward the platform where the machine's arms would come down from the ceiling to help him undress. When he stopped Tin hit the first button. And as the machine's arms came down, Tin hit the second button. It was a very simple task indeed.

The clone turned to leave as the arms reached his boss, to give Lord Vader some privacy. Yet, as soon as he stepped away from the console, he was yanked backward by his boss.

Tin gave a surprise gasp before forcing his body to remain relax. He told himself not to fight when he was pulled toward the mediation tank. Then, his boss released him and Tin found himself standing between the tank and Lord Vader.

"Strip," came an order. Tin gulped but complied, eyes fixed on his own reflection on the tank's glass. His back was to his boss. The clone undressed and stood there, bare and almost shivered under the low temperature of the room.

Tin could hear the humming sound of the machine as it worked. He imaged what might be happened. The machine helped his boss out of the suit, then lifting him toward the tank before sinking down, submerging his boss.

As the machine started lifting Lord Vader up, Tin found himself being lifted too. However, it's his boss who lifted him. And in no time, both of them were held above the tank filled with cool liquid.

Tin had no idea what his boss wanted. Surely he wouldn't drop him to drown right? Tin could swim, but the tank was design to close after his boss was in. There would be only a very narrow space between the surface and the lid. There wouldn't be enough air for Tin to survive inside the tank while his boss meditated, presuming that Lord Vader didn't intend to drown him.

To Tin's relief, as soon as his feet touched the surface, a breather mask was held in front of his face. It's a second breather, a spare one, just in case the primary breather wasn't working.

 _So…what exactly is happening? Does Lord Vader want me in the tank while he meditate?_  Tin thought as the mask strapped itself to his face. Now he had no need to worry about drowning, but what exactly did his boss want?

Slowly, they submerged. Tin almost groaned as the warm liquid enveloped his body. Imperial troopers didn't have a luxury of a warm bath unless they're on their annual break. Tin had experienced a warm bath only one or two times in his life. And those happened when Master Luke was very young. When the boy was afraid to go in a bath alone and Tin had to get in with him – to prove that taking a bath was not scary.

Melancholy filled him as the memories of all those years ago came back. However, before Tin could dwell on the memories from the past, Lord Vader's mind touched his. The clone made himself relaxed as the dark essence surrounded him, enveloping him. His boss took him apart as they submerged. Tin closed his eyes as he sank freely to the bottom of the tank before floating up to the middle of it.

_This was like being in a bacta tank, except that I'm not alone._

The clone thought as he floated gently up and down. Lord Vader had let go of him, just physically. Mentally he was still gripping Tin, but not hard enough to break the clone. The dark lord held Tin just hard enough for the clone's mind to leak every emotion and memories into his boss' mind.

Tin wasn't sure how long had passed. Being half-conscious made him semi-disorient. He was aware of the body floating behind him in the tank, but nothing else. Lord Vader held his mind in a tight grip, a silent warning that he would crush Tin if the clone tried to fight back. But Tin wouldn't fight his boss. He had let go of the control long ago.

Since he couldn't tell much about the physical world, Tin focused on what was happening in his mind. His mind always had cracks from the first time his boss invaded his mental space. The cracks had never closed and Lord Vader took advantage of it. His boss' mind was like fluid, it filled every crack, every space. It forced hard pieces apart and surrounded them, drowning them, devouring them.

A metal hand touched his hip and Tin jerked his eyes opened. The first think he saw was how turbid the liquid in the tank was. That's normal, the turbidity was to ensure his boss' privacy. Yet, without the Force to guide his way around, Tin had no idea where he was facing. The door? The wall?

Another metal hand touched his hip and then someone was pressing at him from behind. Tin could feel the order sipping into his mind and automatically spread his legs.

The hands pushed him forward and Tin found himself pressing his hands against something flat and solid.  _Must be the glass wall of the tank,_  the clone thought as he was pressed against it. With his mind overwhelmed by Lord Vader, Tin immediately knew what his boss wanted. A hard member slid against his buttock, then went to slide between the globes. The clone groaned into the breather, trying to keep himself still as his boss positioning himself.

The penetration hurt, but it's bearable. Tin grinded his teeth as the pain bloomed while his boss pushed in. He was sure that it actually hurt more than what he felt, but his mind was numbed. Now all he could feel was lust and something wild – primal.

The hands around his hips tightened to the point of bruising as Lord Vader started to thrust. It was a brutal pace, always a brutal pace, but his prostate was hit every time the dark lord slammed in. Tin whined, vocally and mentally, and got a please hum back in his mind. The dark essence tightened its hold on him, as same as the hands. And soon, the hand left his hip to grip his hands and pinned them on the tank. A human body pressed hard against his back, pushing Tin against the wall of the tank. He was completely trapped by the body behind.

Tin gasped. His boss had never touched him like this before. It had never been this intimated. His chest was plastered against the glass while his boss pressed against him from behind. His erection slid up and down the glass in the same rhythm as the thrusts.

Tin's orgasm hit him by surprise. The dark essence surrounding him drunk in his euphoria before bombarded him with more orders. The clone spread his legs more and pushed back to the thrust. And soon, he felt something hot being shot inside. But that didn't mean this was over yet.

 

Tin lost count of how many time he had hit his peak and how many time his boss had released. But when everything was over, Tin was physically and mentally exhausted. Lord Vader was still holding his mind, but was satisfied with physical service. He let Tin floated away from the wall and slowly turned him, so now they were face to face.

Tin couldn't make out much detail. The content in the tank was very turbid. He could see only the outline and the eyes. The red eyes staring at him.

Lord Vader mentally squeezed him and Tin felt like he would literally break. He had no idea how the Force worked with mind, but that squeeze, if applied just a little more forceful, could really break him. And for the first time, Tin was scared. He wasn't scared of death, but he was scared that if he didn't totally die, just a part of his mind, what would become of him. An absolute loyal soldier with no mind of its own? A living human but with no soul?

However, the dark essence which was his boss didn't apply more force. It simply held Tin's mind in its grip, drinking in his emotions and feeding him with images Tin didn't understand. An explode ship. A planet he had never been to before. A place he had never seen.

_Rest._

A simple order came and Tin obediently closed his eyes again. He drifted off to sleep, still mentally surrounded and suspended, but secured.

 

 

Tin woke up as he was lifted from the tank. Lord Vader was still in his mind, but he was retreating. The dark essence of his mind sliding back to where it came from, leaving more cracks and widening the old cracks in Tin's mind. Yet, Tin wasn't broken. His boss had put his mental space back together before he left.

The clone shivered as he felt the last touch of the dark side left him. And the coldness of the room didn't help either.

Lord Vader set him down in front of the tank, the same spot he lifted Tin from earlier. The lid of the tank closed back with a soft 'thumb'. Yet, the light in the tank was still on, indicating that his boss was still in there.

Tin wasn't sure if he was allowed to leave yet. He was still a bit disorient. And as if annoyed with how slow Tin was, Lord Vader pushed him with the Force not too gently. It made Tin fell down on his discarded uniform.

Getting the order, Tin dressed back quickly. After that he left, as the instruction had said that once Lord Vader was in the tank, Tin was to leave him be unless there was an urgent matter. There was no record about how long his boss would be in there. The length of each meditation depended on what Lord Vader saw fit.

Tin went to his quarter which was not so far away from Lord Vader's Chamber. He had thought about going to the dining hall but his body protested that idea. Tin was very sore and could use another nap. So the clone ordered a droid to bring his meal instead.

 

 

Lord Vader emerged from his Chamber in the morning. He didn't give Tin any order and went straight to his private hangar, so Tin went on with his morning routine. He made sure the Chamber was clean and that everything was working perfectly. After that he went to see how his friends were doing.

Visiting White and others had been fun and relaxing. But all of them straightened up immediately when a droid came running from the hangar to fetch Tin. The droid told Tin that the dark lord would meditate again tonight, so Tin hurried off to prepare the Chamber.

Just like yesterday, Tin was lifted into the tank. However, this time Lord Vader took him with Tin's back against the glass wall. Hands dug another bruises into the clone's hip. Tin's legs rested on his boss' shoulders. However, unlike the last time, this time the breather mask were taken off. Lord Vader bit down at the same spot he had bitten weeks ago, on that Naboo's silver ship.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

Their arrival to the Star Destroyer was uneventful. White and others blended in well with Lord Vader's personal guard. Tin, on the other hand, stood out the most in the plain uniform. However, military officers in this kind of uniform were plenty on the ship, so Tin blended in easily after they left the hangar.

The clone made his way to his assigned quarter. And as soon as he stepped out of the elevator after it arrived at the designated floor, Tin found himself in a long and empty hallway. This was so contrast to the rest of the ship.

_It seems like this floor is off limit to everyone, except Lord Vader…and me._

Tin gulped and started walking. The longer he walked, the more confidence he was in his suspicion. There was no living soul in this floor except him. Also, at the end of the hallway, Tin found himself in front of a large double door with a small door to the side.

 _So this is Lord Vader's Chamber, and this is my quarter,_ Tin looked between the double door and the small one. He decided to get into the Chamber first to check that everything was working perfectly.

 

 

Tin found himself in the Chamber every time Lord Vader decided to meditate. The Chamber wasn't like one on Mustafa where there were a tank and the machines. This Chamber was just a plain room, with a smaller chamber with cleanest air, so his boss could take his mask off longer than usual. And connected to the large Chamber with a small passage, was Lord Vader's private workshop.

This time was like other time before. Tin was summoned to the Chamber by a droid. Lord Vader was already there, standing with his back toward Tin.

The second the droid left, Lord Vader's mind touched his. Tin relaxed immediately. The cracks opened easily under the overwhelming force. He was lifted, mentally and physically, closer to his boss, as Lord Vader walked into the smaller chamber.

Tin wondered what would happen this time. Sometimes they had sex, sometimes his boss just sat there and meditated. However, every time the dark lord would hold Tin's mind. He would overwhelmed it with his presence. Sometimes he filled it with emotions until Tin couldn't take it anymore and passed out, or he would feed on Tin's memories. The clone wasn't sure while his boss was doing this, but he fought when it happened.

The clone closed his eyes as his conscious started to slip away. This time it seemed like Lord Vader would only mentally use him. So Tin relaxed even more and let himself drifted in and out of conscious until his boss was done.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

They arrived at Noska around two galactic weeks after Tin and his team left Mustafa. It was a beautiful planet, covered in green and pink. Pink was the colour of their water, caused by tiny organisms living in every natural water source of Noska. Luckily they could be digested by human and other races, so everyone was completely safe if they wished to drink the water in the wild.

They didn't go to Noska by a Star Destroyer. The giant ship dropped them off at the sector, they went to Noska by an Imperial shuttle and a TIE-fighter. Or, to be exact, Lord Vader's TIE-fighter. And, for more surprise, Tin found himself occupied the second seat in said fighter.

Tin was thankful that Lord Vader also had a private hangar on the Star Destroyer. The hangar was primary there for his boss' privacy, so he could upgrade his fighter without Stormtroopers walking around. However, that also meant that it saved Tin the awkward feeling of boarding his boss' ship with thousand pairs of eyes watching. It also saved Tin for having to explain to others why Lord Vader brought him on his private ship, and why must he go to Noska since his duty was to take care of the Chamber. Both were the questions Tin had no answer for since his boss didn't tell him anything.

" _You will go to Noska with me,"_  was the order Tin got after Lord Vader's latest meditation. Several hours later, Tin found himself sitting on the back seat, right behind his boss.

"I sense your curiosity." And as soon as they left the Star Destroyer, his boss spoke. "I will allow you to ask questions, Sergeant."

 _Okay, right, keep it short and to the point,_  Tin told himself. "Why you want me on Noska, my lord?"

"I have a task for you."

 _Well, that doesn't clear anything up much, but it's better than nothing._  Tin nodded to himself and asked the next questions. "Why I'm not in the same shuttle as others?" Actually, Tin wanted to ask 'why you want to me in here? I've never flew a ship and know only the basic knowledges about it?'

"I have something to discuss with you in private," came the answer that shocked Tin. "I trust only the ship I built."

 _He didn't want to risk that someone might be able to eavesdrop if we're on the Star Destroyer._  Tin gulped.  _So this must be very serious._

"I've no other question, Lord Vader," Tin replied and waited. He didn't have to wait long.

"The Noska is a valuable member of the Empire." his boss said. "Yet lately, they show signs of hesitance. I am here to convince them."

 _Oh, I see,_  Tin thought. For years, the Noskans produced the Empire with high quality ores. Their ores were not hard to find, some ores even laid around on the ground surface. And with this, an outright invasion or war weren't recommended. It would cause many loss to the promising land of ores. So, when they showed signs of changing sides, the Emperor had to send in Lord Vader.

However, that didn't answer Tin's question 'why am I here?'.

"I have a mission for you," Lord Vader continued. Tin was sure that he must be reading his mind.

"Noskas are divided into sectors. Each sectors have their own leaders. Some leaders trust in the Empire, some don't," his boss said. "The Rebels are trying to convince as many leaders as possible to their side. Some Rebels are still on the planet, including Luke."

 _Master Luke?_  Tin's eyes widened.  _Master Luke is on Noska?!_

"It is a waste of time. Noskans aren't foolish. They know better than to betray the Empire," Lord Vader said. "Luke is still too naïve. Some leaders will pretend to change side. He didn't know that until it's too late. And the Noskans don't take prisoners. They capture Rebels for information only. Information which they will use to strike higher bargain for their ores. They have been trying for several years."

 _The Noskans have Master Luke?!_  Tin wasn't sure why, but he suddenly felt something bubbling deep inside his mind. An instinct, or probably a habit. Something he always felt when he saw Luke in danger. He wanted to protect that boy, he always did. At the same time, Tin could feel a dark essence touching his mind. It was a brief contact, but enough to spark the memories of Luke before Tin's eyes. And along with that, Tin could sense anger from the other end.

 _Lord Vader might not be the best father in the galaxy, but he still cares,_  Tin almost smiled.

"The Noskans don't know that I am aware of Luke's presence," his boss continued. "You are here to free Luke before they use that boy against me or the Empire."

 

 

Before they reached Noska's surface, Lord Vader ordered the shuttle to meet him in the middle of the air. He ordered the shuttle to open the door. Then, Tin was sent flying off the TIE-fighter into the shuttle.

"Are you okay?" White asked as he helped Tin stood up. The door shut as the shuttle continued after Lord Vader to the surface of planet Noska.

 "I'm okay," Tin nodded, straightened his back. He looked at White and his team. "Lord Vader has a job for us."

 

 

 

 

 

 

**TBC.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys, I know it has been a while and I'm sorry I cannot update it sooner. Many stuffs happened lately. For those who read my other fics, you might already know that I'd been in a car accident. I'd several fractured bones and was hospitalized. I'm all better now. However, there are so many things I'd to catch up after the accident, so it's kind of took me a while to find the inspiration to continue this. But don't worry! I already have the ending of this fic in mind, I won't abandon this fic.
> 
> Ps. in case anyone want to know, this story is around 2/3 of the whole thing I've planned. So yeah, it would be around 4-5 chapters left.


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